Tokenized media content management

ABSTRACT

A system and method for media content management include determining, via a digital vault, that a first stakeholder is authorized to sell a salable content item by holding rights in the salable content item; determining, via the digital vault, whether consent for a nonfungible token (NFT) transaction of any of the stakeholders other than the first stakeholder is required; and the digital vault preventing the sale of the salable content item until consent for the sale is received from the stakeholders from whom consent is required.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/586,746, filed Jan. 27, 2022, titled“TOKENIZED MEDIA CONTENT MANAGEMENT”, which is a continuation of andclaims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/240,928, filedApr. 26, 2021, titled “TOKENIZED MEDIA CONTENT MANAGEMENT” (which issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 11,250,111 on Feb. 15, 2022), which is acontinuation-in-part of and claims the benefit of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/221,723, filed Apr. 2, 2021, titled “MEDIACONTENT MANAGEMENT”, which is a continuation-in-part of and claims thebenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/950,734, filed Nov. 17,2020, titled “MEDIA CONTENT MANAGEMENT” (which issued as U.S. Pat. No.11,030,283 on Jun. 8, 2021), which is a continuation of and claims thebenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/681,598, filed Nov. 12,2019, titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTENT METADATA MANAGEMENT”(which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,860,694 on Dec. 8, 2020), which is acontinuation-in-part of and claims the benefit of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/831,128, filed Dec. 4, 2017, titled “DIGITALVAULT FOR MEDIA OWNERS”, which is a continuation-in-part of and claimsthe benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/430,871, filed Feb.13, 2017, titled “DIGITAL VAULT FOR MUSIC OWNERS” (which issued as U.S.Pat. No. 9,836,619 on Dec. 5, 2017), each of which is incorporated byreference in their entirety as if reproduced in full below.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/681,598 also claims the benefit ofU.S. Patent Application No. 62/872,348, filed Jul. 10, 2019, titled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTENT METADATA MANAGEMENT,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

This application is co-pending with U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/240,916, filed Apr. 26, 2021, titled “TOKENIZED MEDIA CONTENTMANAGEMENT” (which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,256,788 on Feb. 22, 2022),which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed technology relates generally to media content files, andmore particularly, some embodiments relate to containers for mediacontent and associated content metadata.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

The recording industry has struggled for many years with problemsassociated with keeping track of records associated with audiorecordings. Record labels, licensing companies, publishers and otherindustry participants have been known to spend months, and sometimesyears, tracking down music rights information and other recordsassociated with audio recordings. Also, the industry in general and theartist themselves have often struggled with keeping track of whocontributed to the creation of a song or who should otherwise havecertain rights. These issues are not limited to audio recordings and canspan other media content as well.

The foregoing issues can lead to difficulties when licensing content foruse by third parties, difficulties recognizing and compensating artistsfor their contribution to content, difficulties with version control forcontent items, and difficulties keeping track of pertinent contentinformation in general.

The media content industry has yet to arrive at an acceptable solution,leading to critical data being lost or untraceable and in some cases theloss of rights. Current manual techniques for addressing metadata haveproven unsuccessful as oftentimes metadata is either lost or incomplete,or not collected in the first place. Participants such as contentcreators and publishers are also often unaware of the types ofinformation that needs to be collected and maintained along with theircontent. Accordingly, much time is often spent after the fact attemptingto locate and gather this information. In some instances, theinformation is no longer available due to the amount of time that haspassed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS

According to various embodiments of the disclosed technology, systemsand methods may be implemented to create, manage and share one or morecontent items, along with metadata or other related files associatedwith those content items such as, for example, in a portable physicalfile that can be exported. The system may be implemented to create acontainer to contain one or more content items and associated metadata.The system may be further implemented to verify the completeness ofmetadata files associated with content items in the containers, alertappropriate users if specified metadata files are missing from acontainer, and allow users to update the metadata to complete thecontainers.

Some or all of the metadata information pertaining to a song/single, EPor album (or other content) can be shared, copied or transferred bygenerating a container file that includes the media file (e.g.,audio/video), metadata and all other related assets encapsulated in onesecure file. Information and assets may be stored either directly in thefile or using an identifier or link that identifies the data stored on aserver. Information and assets can also be viewed and managed eitherthrough a web portal and application utilizing a network connection to aserver, or via native application on a user device that will access andupdate the data stored in the file or a combination of both.

Embodiments may be implemented to allow media content owners who ownsome or all of the rights associated with a media content item managedin the vault (directly, or via or an agent acting on behalf of an owner)to divest those rights to others and track the divestiture such as, forexample, via tokens. For example, media content items such as artwork,audio files, video files, lyrics or other works can be associated with anonfungible token (NFT) (e.g., via a pointer to the NFT) and one or moreNFT's associated with such content item or items can be managed via themedia content management system. For example, embodiments may beconfigured to allow a content owner (i.e., him or herself or via anagent) to sell an NFT, which embodies the ownership or other rights tothe asset to be divested. The NFT memorializes the sale (e.g., based ona smart contract) of the rights and can be recorded against adistributed ledger such as a blockchain. The NFT could embody orrepresent the work being transferred, which could be, for example,ownership rights or exclusive or non-exclusive license rights (e.g., anyor all of the rights to use, display, perform, reproduce, createderivative works, etc.) in and to the work that are being sold. The salecould be the sale of all or part of the work (e.g., the entire work,lyrics only, music only, soundtrack only, video only, script only,stanza only, a certain verse, image only, and so on), and the sale couldbe for whole or fractional ownership, or for exclusive or non-exclusiverights ownership or license rights. The NFT and associated smartcontract can be configured to define the rights transferred with theNFT, which rights may specify what a purchaser can and cannot do withthe content purchased.

Various embodiments can be implemented to address problems in the mediacontent industry such as keeping track of records regarding items suchas, for example, creators and co-collaborators, performers and otherartists, media rights information, version control, copyrightinformation, recognition of rights information, and so on. Embodimentsmay be implemented to effectively track all who contributed to an itemof media content and capture the nature of their contribution. This canhelp to avoid issues with recognizing the wrong individuals or failingto recognize actual contributors. Embodiments may also be implemented tostore and associate NFT's with their respective media content items andmay be used to offer purchase of content items using such NFT's.Embodiments provide systems and methods to solve problems in theindustry that have yet to be solved and to accomplish this using novelprocesses for receipt, management, sharing, transferring (e.g., viatokens) and tracking of media content items and their associatedmetadata including, for example, novel files and file structures, noveldata capture and storage techniques, novel metadata checking, and so on.

Some embodiments of the application are directed to methods, systems, orcomputer readable media comprising, for example, creating, via a digitalvault, a container file comprising media content submitted by a user andcontent metadata; verifying, via the digital vault, a completeness ofthe content metadata associated with the media content in the containerfile; classifying, via the digital vault, the container file based onthe completeness of the media content; identifying a salable contentitem that is to be put up for sale, the salable content item comprisingall or part of the media content; creating, via the digital vault, anonfungible token (NFT) container file and populating the NFT containerfile with the salable content item and NFT metadata pertaining to thesalable content item, the NFT metadata comprising a specification ofownership rights in the salable content item; offering the specifiedownership rights to the salable content item for sale via an NFTtransaction; and updating the NFT container file to reflect a new ownerof the ownership rights to the salable content after sale of the salablecontent item.

Some embodiments of the application are directed to methods, systems, orcomputer readable media comprising, for example, creating, via a digitalvault, a container file comprising media content submitted by a user andcontent metadata; verifying, via the digital vault, a completeness ofthe content metadata associated with the media content in the containerfile; classifying, via the digital vault, the container file based onthe completeness of the media content; identifying a salable contentitem that is to be put up for sale via a nonfungible token (NFT)transaction, the salable content item comprising all or part of themedia content; determining, via the digital vault, whether otherstakeholders of the salable content item hold rights in the salablecontent item and whether consent for the NFT transaction of any suchother stakeholder is required; and the digital vault prohibiting thesale of the salable content item until consent for the sale is receivedfrom each stakeholder from whom consent is required.

Some embodiments of the application are directed to methods, systems, orcomputer readable media comprising, for example, determining, via adigital vault, that a first stakeholder is authorized to initiate a saleof a salable content item by holding rights in the salable content item;determining, via the digital vault, whether consent for a nonfungibletoken (NFT) transaction of any of the stakeholders other than the firststakeholder is required; and the digital vault preventing the sale ofthe salable content item until consent for the sale is received from thestakeholders from whom consent is required.

Other features and aspects of the disclosed technology will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, thefeatures in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology. Thesummary is not intended to limit the scope of any inventions describedherein, which are defined solely by the claims attached hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The technology disclosed herein, in accordance with one or more variousembodiments, is described in detail with reference to the followingfigures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only andmerely depict typical or example embodiments of the disclosedtechnology. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader'sunderstanding of the disclosed technology and shall not be consideredlimiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability thereof. It should benoted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are notnecessarily made to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example diagram of a system for controlleddistribution of digital music.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of a digital vault for musicowners.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flowchart of a method of a music ownercontrolling distribution of music.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example flowchart of a method of a reviewing userreceiving controlled distribution of music.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example block diagram of a computing device.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example container-based content management systemin accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a high level example of a creator accessing a contentmanagement system to create and store a container file in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process for content management using acontainer file in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example creation of a content container inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example process for creating a container inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example UI for an application for a contentmanagement system in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example UI for a container viewer in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example scenario of collaborative music creationin a cloud environment in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example process for collaborative music creationin accordance with the example of FIG. 13 .

FIG. 15 illustrates an example scenario of music creation in a localenvironment in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example process for music creation in accordancewith the example of FIG. 15 .

FIG. 17 illustrates an example scenario of hybrid music creation inwhich multiple creators create content in a cloud-based environment andanother collaborator performs content creation in a local environment.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example description of a descriptor file forcontents of a container in accordance with one embodiment

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a container stored in a data store inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example file structure that can be used for acontainer file 612 in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 21 illustrates examples of different forms of container storage. At1332, a fully encapsulated container 612 is illustrated.

FIG. 22 illustrates a diagram of a system to enable communications andcollaboration of media content in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 23 illustrates a communication channel of the system in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 24 illustrates an electronic communication in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 25 illustrates a high level overview of the vault computer system,including communications and messaging, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example configuration for using a digital vaultfor NFT transactions in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 27 illustrates an example configuration for NFT creation andmanagement in accordance with one embodiment, example processes for NFTcreation and management were described above at least with reference toFIGS. 8 and 10 .

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of some additional actions that can betaken by a new NFT owner via the digital vault.

FIG. 29 illustrates examples of NFT metadata that may be included in thecontainer in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example NFT UI for a container in accordance withone embodiment.

The figures are not exhaustive and do not limit the disclosure or thedisclosed embodiments to the precise form disclosed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

According to various embodiments of the disclosed technology, systemsand methods may be implemented to create, manage and share one or morecontent items, along with metadata or other related files associatedwith those content items such as, for example, in a portable physicalfile that can be exported. The content items may include, for example,recorded audio files, video files, images, or other electronicallycapturable or storable content. The file, or container, in which acontent item and its associated files are kept may be maintained, forexample, as a portable, physical file (e.g., on a flash drive, on adisk, or as a file in memory or on disk on a server or other computingsystem) that the owner can share with others.

The information stored in the container may be one or more content itemsof various types and related files themselves, it may be in the form oflinks to the data or files stored elsewhere, it may be a link to thirdparty data or services, or it may be a combination of the foregoing.Third party data and services might include, for example, the IRS,streaming services (e.g., Spotify, Pandora, etc.), Performance RightsOrganizations (PROs), Soundexchange, the Copyright Office, or otherthird party resources. The container can be secured such as, forexample, by encrypting the files stored on the container or otherwiseusing access-control techniques to keep the file and its contents frombeing accessed by unintended recipients.

Embodiments also provide an interface for the user to view, play or editthe data within the container. For example, a UI can allow a custodianof the container (e.g., the author(s) of the content, publisher,recipient with designated permissions, or other recognized user) toprovide an updated content file, access and play back the content file,modify the content file, add or remove the associated files or othermetadata and otherwise edit the associated files or other metadata.Embodiments may also be implemented to track and validate any changesmade to the container or the data contained therein.

The system may further be implemented to utilize tokens to track rightsand ownership. For example, embodiments may provide the ability for theuser to establish one or more non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or othertokens, for his or her content items and to offer the one or more NFTsrepresenting their respective content. For example, a single NFT may beassociated with a single salable item or group of salable items, ormultiple NFTs may be associated with a single salable item or group ofsalable items (the latter to provide fractional ownership ornon-exclusive licenses for example). Accordingly, the system may beconfigured to tie the NFTs and NFT data to these items. Salable contentitems may include, for example, a complete work (e.g., a content item),part of a complete work (e.g., a segment, a layer, lyrics, music, avideo file, soundtrack, stanza, verse, image, etc.), a collection ofworks, and so on.

The NFT can be used to represent and transfer ownership of theassociated salable content item(s), which can be tracked via ablockchain or other distributed ledger. Embodiments may be configured totrack the rights owned by various contributors or other system users ina work and to tie those rights to the respective NFT such that an NFTcan be created to represent only the rights owned by a user or userswishing to sell those rights. Thus, the system can be configured totrack any or all of the various rights in a work and provide a level ofaccountability and authenticity to an NFT purporting to represent thoserights. Tracking rights during the creation and collaboration phasecoupled with tracking rights transferred, such as via an NFTtransaction, can allow the system to be used to determine which (andwhose) rights would be needed for future licensing, sales or othertransfers of content items; how payments are to be split among thevarious stakeholders of content items; and otherwise determine who'sconsents, permissions, etc. may be required for other actions associatedwith the content item. The system can also be configured to ensure thatall consents that may be required from the various stakeholders for agiven transaction are obtained and documented before a user is permittedto initiate or complete such a transaction. Thus, embodiments may beimplemented to greatly simplify rights management and accounting and toprovide integrity in the process.

The system can also be used to prohibit a party from generating an NFTcontainer and attempting to move rights into the container or to sellrights that party does not hold. As described herein ownership of thoserights may be tracked based on contributions made through the system aswell as rights that may be delegated or assigned contractually among theparties. Accordingly, embodiments may tie the ability to generate andsell rights via an NFT (or otherwise) to the ownership of rights astracked and maintained by the digital vault system. Because the systemcan track these rights (e.g., based on contributions to the vault,confirmation or acquiescence of other contributors, designation ofrights in the vault, etc.) and maintain records thereof, a certain levelof integrity can be injected into the NFT process. Also, the system canensure that any rights that are transferred via an NFT are alsotransferred subject to pre-existing license or other rights that theseller's interest might be subject to. Once again, this information maybe tracked and maintained via the digital vault.

Embodiments may further be configured in which the system employs othermechanisms to authenticate the work and the user that is selling rightsvia a token to help ensure authenticity. For example, the system can beconfigured to accept and verify various forms of identification toverify the purported owner and seller of rights to a salable contentitem such as, for example, a driver's license, passport or other ID.Additionally, proprietary or third-party identity verification servicescan be used to verify the identification of the seller such thatpurchasers may be given greater comfort in the purchase of digitalcontent via a token transaction. Identity of the seller can be comparedto ownership information, such as, for example, ownership informationmaintained in the digital vault, ownership information as determinedfrom registered ownership records (e.g., BMI IPI/CAE number), checkingownership information on ownership contracts, or other verifiableownership information.

Embodiments may further be implemented to confirm digital identificationof a purported seller such as, for example, implementing processes inaccordance with NIST 800-63-3 digital identity guidelines or the like tovalidate the seller and authenticate the work. For example, embodimentsmay be configured in which the digital vault system acts as acredentials service provider (CSP) or enlists the services ofthird-party CSPs to verify authentication. As yet another example, thesystem can utilize biometric identification to validate the identity ofa purported seller. For example, where a performing artists intends tosell an audio track featuring his or her voice, the system can beconfigured to require the seller to speak certain texts or phrases toperform a voice identification/verification on the individual.

Also, in circumstances in which the work was created using the contentmanagement system (e.g., and contributions to the work by variouscontributors entered into the system as created), the content managementsystem can authenticate a work based on the contributions made and thecontributors who participated in such contributions, all of which may betracked, for example, as metadata associated with the content stored.For example, the system can store source files for content items createdusing the digital vault and can check (e.g., compare) the salablecontent item to these project files to verify its authenticity. Asanother example, works created via an authoring tool (e.g., Pro Tools™digital audio workstation for music works, PhotoShop™ for photographicworks, and analogous tools for other types of works) the originalproject files can be verified, or in some cases rerun to recreate thework (e.g., audio output or digital photograph or final video etc.) forsale. Thus, the original source materials, which a party merely copyingthe final work would not have access to, can be verified or used tocreate the salable item.

Additionally, once a work is transferred (such as via an NFT) ownershiprecords can be updated by the digital vault and the work locked as toparties who don't have or who no longer have ownership rights or accessrights in the work. In some embodiments, the new owner purchasing a work(via an NFT or otherwise) will be able to manage and control access tohis or her acquired works using the digital vault. That is, the newowner may “step into the shoes” of the previous owner in terms ofcontent management via the digital vault. Such embodiments may beuseful, for example, where the sale of the work is an outright sale ofrights. In some embodiments, the system may be configured to create anew container (separate from the original container) for the salablecontent item being transferred such that the new owner can manage his orher rights via the container such as in the manner described herein forcontent management via the content management system. Thus, the newowner would be able to perform digital vault operations such asmaintaining, sharing, tracking usage, etc. of the work here shepurchased.

Users of the system may also create other property items that may beassociated with works and offer those appropriate items for sale throughthe system, for example, as a package with the rights in the work beingsold through an NFT. For example, users may create branded merchandise,event tickets, celebrity appearance events, backstage passes, and so on,and offer those for sale through the systems and methods describedherein. In other words, the content management system can also beconfigured as a platform for selling, licensing, offering, or otherwisetransferring media content items and related goods and services, whetherdirectly or via an auction, to 3^(rd) parties.

The content management system may be implemented as separate componentsor as an integrated system, with all components in one location orapplication. A content or asset creation and management platform can beused to facilitate creation of the content and management of the createdcontent. This can be an application that may be downloaded to ordownloadable by users to run on their own devices, or it may be anapplication supported by a cloud-based platform. A content editorallowing operation such as viewing content, reading content, editingcontent and so on may also be provided as a downloadable app or as anapp presented by a cloud-based solution. This can include one or morecomponents (or other apps) for file reading, content viewing/playing,content editing, and so on. A content or asset sharing application canbe used to allow the asset to be shared in a secure and controlledmanner. For example, a transportable container can be provided tocontain the content and associated metadata, and the container may besecured to allow content items to be transported to other users. Asnoted above, the container may include the files themselves, links tothe files, or a combination of the foregoing. The container may alsoinclude NFTs or other tokens that can be used to track ownership inrights to the content items in the container. NFT data can also bemaintained in the digital vault. NFT data can include, for example, NFTinformation, contract information, ownership information, worksassociated with an NFT, a transaction log, and so on. As further notedabove, where a salable content item is offered, a separate container maybe created for the salable content item.

The container may be securely stored locally, on a portable storagedevice, or on a cloud-based storage device. The content managementsystem may maintain pointers to file location so that all local updatescan be populated to files on a cloud server as well.

Controls may be implemented to allow only owners or administrators tomake changes to the container items to help maintain integrity of thedata. A mechanism can be provided such that if a user does not havepermission to make changes, they can enter their suggested changes intothe system. The system can then send a notification of the changerequest to the proper users who will view and approve or disapprove therequested changes. Access and modification activities may be trackedalong with notifications being sent (e.g., based on notificationsettings). Where multiple approvals are required, approval may be basedon various rules such as majority required, unanimous consent required,and so on.

The system may be configured determine consents required for a giventransaction and ensure that consensus among the appropriate stakeholdersis reached before permitting a transaction to occur. For example, thesystem's tracking of stakeholder rights as described herein (including,e.g., ownership rights) allows the system to determine which rightsowners are required to be a party to which types of transactions. As afurther example, where multiple stakeholders own a given work, each mustconsent to the sale of that work; but where a subset of thosestakeholders own a portion of the media content (such as the performancerights of the work, or the cover art, etc.) then each member of thatsubset must consent to the sale of that portion of the content.

When an owner initiates an NFT transaction, the system can be configuredto inform the initiating owner of the consents required so theinitiating owner is aware of such requirements. The initiating owner maythen reach out to the other owners to reach consensus on thetransaction. For example, the initiating owner may use communicationmechanisms of the content management system to message the other owners,such as via the messaging mechanisms described with reference to FIGS.22-25 . Polling type messages may be used, as one example, to receive a‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ type of response. As another example, thecontent management system may be configured to automatically notifyother owners when one owner initiates a transaction.

The content management system may further be configured to track theresponses to determine whether the required stakeholders have reachedconsensus on the transaction. The content management system may updatethe metadata to reflect the responses and consensus, if reached. Themessaging may further include proposed terms of the transaction, and thestakeholders may negotiate such terms amongst themselves and reachconsensus on such terms via the content management system's messagingcapabilities. The system may further be configured to embed such termsinto the smart contract and other appropriate NFT metadata. The contentmanagement system may be configured to, upon completion of thetransaction, distribute proceeds in accordance with the agreed uponterms, which may be consistent with or different from previously agreedsplits recorded in the content metadata.

Accordingly, embodiments may be implemented in which the contentmanagement system can validate the transaction by, for example,authenticating the salable content item, validating the authority of theseller to sell the salable content item (whether outright sale, licenserights or otherwise), verifying that all stakeholders whose consent arerequired have consented, and ensuring that proceeds (whether saleproceeds, royalties, or other consideration) are properly distributedamong the stakeholders.

Where rights to a salable content item have been transferred by a tokensuch as an NFT, any access, modification, use or other rightstransferred along with that item can be tracked such that theaforementioned controls can also apply to new owners or rights holdersthat acquire those rights. That is, in some embodiments, rightsspecified for a content item in a container in the digital vault can bemaintained, as appropriate, and follow the salable content item to itsnew owner (and to subsequent owners). Where the seller holds certainrights in a content item and is selling some or all of those rights, therights sold may be maintained in the container file (e.g., as metadata)and ownership information updated to reflect the new owner of thoserights upon the sale.

Where other users also have rights to the content item in the container,metadata reflecting their existing rights may be maintained such thatall rights can be recorded and tracked in the container file and therights of those other users can be preserved along with the new owner'srights. Thus, the new owner can virtually step into the shoes of theseller to the extent of the new owner's purchased rights. In furtherembodiments, the system may create a new container file (which may bereferred to as an NFT container file) into which a salable content itemand its metadata can be placed. The new container file can include NFTmetadata (which may include a smart contract) specifying the ownershiprights of the salable content item (e.g., outright ownership of thecontent, fractional ownership, ownership of certain license rights,etc.) which are being in the NFT transaction.

Upon the sale, the new container file can be updated to reflect the newowner's ownership of the rights and the new container “transferred” tothe new owner to be under his/her control. For an outright sale of allrights in their entirety, for example, the container can be transferredand the new owner takes over. The system may update the rights to thecontainer (e.g., the metadata) to remove access rights to the containerfrom the seller or sellers of the salable content item, for example, tothe extent access rights that accompanied the rights were sold. Wherethe sale is subject to the rights of other users, the original containermay be updated to reflect the transferred rights and the ownershipthereof. Accordingly, in various embodiments the benefits that can beattained through the content management system can be made available tothe NFT purchaser such as via the existing container or via a newcontainer housing the relevant content item.

Embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein represent animprovement over conventional solutions which do not provide a suitablemechanism for checking, tracking, verifying or maintaining metadataassociated with content items. Implementing a container to maintainmetadata items and modifying the computing process to perform functionssuch as determining a content type for the content; identifying items ofmetadata specified for the determined content type; determining whetherspecified metadata corresponding to the content is missing from orincluded in the container; and prompting a user to supply identifiedmissing metadata corresponding to the container represent an inventiveconcept that alters the conventional operation of the computing system.Embodiments can ensure that the appropriate metadata is collected andmaintained with the content and avoid issues with conventional systems.Moreover, establishing a mechanism within the vault to manage NFT orother token transactions represents a further improvement overconventional solutions, at least by virtue of allowing transfers ofrights via NFTs or other tokens, and the various rights and otherinformation associated with such transfers, to be tracked and stored. Asnoted above, embodiments can be implemented in which the identity of theseller of the rights can be verified to enhance the integrity of NFTtransactions. Additionally, the new owner requiring rights through theNFT may be afforded the same features and benefits as previous owners interms of content management via the content management system.

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a diagram of a system 100 forcontrolled distribution of digital music. The system 100 includes adigital vault 110, repository 115, two or more control devices 125 andtwo or more reviewing devices 135. A network 160 connects the variousdevices for intercommunications. The network 160 may be wired orwireless or combination, may be packet switched and/or circuit-switchedor a combination, may include public and private LANs and WANs and mayinclude or be the Internet.

The digital vault 110 is a hardware system providing digital vaultservices as described herein. The hardware of the digital vault 110 maybe shared in whole or in part. Software of the digital vault 110 may beon one or more of a single computer, or a group of computers which maybe arranged as a cloud. The hardware of the digital vault 110 may be oneor multiple computers and may be in a single location or distributedamong multiple locations. The digital vault services may be embedded inhardware and/or implemented with machine readable storage media in astorage device included with or otherwise coupled to a computing device.

The repository 115 is a data storage system and may be a single storagedevice, an array of devices, a distribution of devices and/or cloudstorage, may be in a single location or distributed among multiplelocations, may be local or remote to the digital vault 110, and may be acombination of these. The repository 115 may store media items data andmetadata. By media item, it is meant a single unit of streaming media,such as a song, a video or a playlist. The repository 115 may store bothstructured and unstructured data sets.

By song it is meant a file consisting of music in digital form having aplay time at normal speed of between ten seconds and several hours. Bynormal speed it is meant a default playback speed; that is, not sped upor slowed down, and without use of fast forward to skip ahead or rewindto jump back. The songs may be stored in the repository 115 in one ormultiple well-known and/or proprietary formats including, for example,MP3, MP4, WAV, AAC, OGG, AIFF, WMA, and other lossy and losslessformats.

By video it is meant a file consisting of moving images in digital formhaving a play time at normal speed of between ten seconds and severalhours.

A playlist is akin to a song, but formed from a compilation of songs. Ina playlist, individual songs may be modified by the creator (e.g., a DJ)such as with effects, transitions between songs may be added, andentirely new music or sounds may be placed between pre-existing songs.Furthermore, the digital vault may include a DJ mode that allowscreation and modification of playlists on the fly, and captures andrecords the product.

FIG. 1 shows three identical control devices 125 a, 125 b, 125 n, andthree identical reviewing devices, 135 a, 135 b, 135 n. This is intendedto show that the system 100 can support numerous such devices.Furthermore, these devices need not be identical; they need only havethe specific minimum components and capabilities described below.Furthermore, the control devices 125 and the reviewing devices 135 maybe geographically distributed to the extent supported by the network160.

Human users, not part of the system 100, are also shown. Owners 120 areusers who own media items; that is, they own the copyrights and notmerely copies, or human agents who act on behalf of the copyrightowners. Owners 120 of songs may be musicians, including songwriters andperformers. Owners of videos may be producers. Owners of playlists maybe DJs.

Reviewing users 130 are an intended audience of the owners, such aspeople who work as producers, distributors, agents, labels, potentialemployers, other musicians and creators, fans, commercial purchasers ofmedia and promoters. Owners 120 are shown adjacent respective controldevices 125. Reviewing users 130 are shown adjacent respective reviewingdevices 135. The respective users 120, 130 interact with the respectivedevices 125, 135. The devices 125, 135 may be single-user or may supportmultiple users. Users may use multiple devices 125, 135 which may besynchronized. Owners 120 may also be reviewing users 130.

The control devices 125 and reviewing devices 135 are end user computingdevices through which the owners 120 interact with the digital vault110. These end user computing devices 125, 135 include software and/orhardware for providing functionality and features described herein. Asshown in FIG. 1 , the control devices 125 are laptop computers and thereviewing devices 135 are smartphones. However, other general purposeand special purpose computing devices may be used.

Referring now to FIG. 2 there is shown a block diagram of a digitalvault 200, which may be the digital vault 110 of FIG. 1 . The digitalvault 200 has a number of modules: an account management module 210, anaccess control module 220, an upload module 230, a sharing module 240, aplay module 250 and a management module 260. The digital vault 200 maybe used by owners to share their media items with reviewing users. Thedigital vault 200 may further include one or more of a publishing module270, a copyright registration module 280 and an infringement trackingmodule 290. Additional and fewer modules or other arrangement ofsoftware, hardware and data structures may be used to achieve theprocesses and apparatuses described herein.

Each of the modules 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290 has arespective function. The account management module 210 is for creatingaccounts with the digital vault for plural owners. The access controlmodule 220 is for providing the owners secure access to their respectiveaccounts. The access control module 220 also maintains security measuresto prevent unauthorized access to the owners' accounts. The securitymodule may include encryption and decryption components, digitalwatermarking components, and related copy-limiting and song trackingcomponents. The access control module 220 also provides reviewing usersaccess to the media items in an owner's account. The upload module 230is for the owners to upload media items into the owners' respectiveaccounts. The sharing module 240 is for the owners to provide reviewingusers with access to their media items. The play module 250 is for thereviewing users to stream the media items in the digital vault to whichthe owners have given them access. The management module 260 providesthe owners various options for managing the media items in theiraccounts. The activity module will record/track the exact time and datethe reviewing users entered the digital vault, provide a timestamp ofthat activity by reviewer showing what specific media items they playedand what the duration of the playback was for each specific originalmedia item the owner deposited in the vault. The activity module mayalso capture or receive the IP address, anonymized or non-anonymized orother identifier of a reviewer.

The publishing module 270 provides an automated publication function toowners. Through the publishing module 270, an owner can identify one ormore media items in their account to publish. The publishing module 270then automatically causes the identified media items to be streamedthrough a public channel, and records play information such as timestampand channel identification. The public channel may be an onlinestreaming service, such as Spotify, Pandora, YouTube or Hulu, or abroadcaster such as a terrestrial radio station, or a cable musicchannel such as those provided by Time Warner Cable. The media item maybe streamed on demand by a user of the public channel, or may beincluded in a play list of the public channel. When the media item isstreamed, the publishing module 270 may also capture or receive the IPaddress, anonymized or non-anonymized or other identifier of a revieweror recipient of the media item from the streaming service. If providingsongs directly from (he digital vault, then a streaming player withdecoder/codec may be provided by the play module 250 or the publishingmodule 270 to the reviewing user.

The copyright registration module 280 provides an automated copyrightapplication function to owners. Through the copyright registrationmodule 280, an owner can identify one or more media items in theiraccount for copyright registration. The copyright registration module280 then collects whatever information is required to file a copyrightapplication and, through an interface with the online application systemof a copyright office such as the U.S. Copyright Office, automaticallyfiles applications for registration for the identified media items. Thecopyright registration module 280 may request some of the requiredinformation from the owner. The copyright registration module 280 mayobtain some of the required information automatically. For example, thedigital vault 200 stores publication information about media itemspublished through the publishing module 270, and the copyrightregistration module 280 may use this information in copyrightapplications.

The infringement tracking module 290 provides an automated function toowners to learn about unauthorized distribution and plays of their mediaitems. Through the infringement tracking module 290, an owner can selectone or more media items in their account, and the infringement trackingmodule 290 will automatically cause a search outside of the digitalvault 200 for media which match the selected media items. Theinfringement tracking module 290 may perform the identification usingthe digital watermark added to the selected media item by the publishingmodule 270. a bit comparison of media item files, a hash computationcomparison or other identification technique. The infringement trackingmodule 290 then reports the match information, including location of thefound media item and a rating of confidence in the match.

The digital vault may further include a token transaction module 295,which may be attached via the bus. The token transaction module 295 maybe included to manage token transactions involving the sale of rightsassociated with a salable item (e.g., sale, license or other conveyanceof such rights). The token transaction module may be configured to, forexample, manage and secure assets for the NFT (Content Management),provide users/collaborators a place that facilitates the building of theNFT container/package (e.g., for the salable item), facilitatecommunications amongst NFT parties (e.g., contributors, owners,purchasers, and others); provide and maintain an audit trail/log(Fingerprint) documenting the collaboration, ownership, creation, andother information related to the NFT Assets and Metadata; provide asmart contract viewer that allows users to view a user friendly easy toread representation of the smart contract code, providing minting in thedigital vault or facilitate external minting along with NFT distributionto an internal or external third party marketplace; provide NFT Owneraccess to access, view, play listen to, etc. the NFT assets; and allowthe NFT owner to securely share access to view and listen to the NFTassets, such as with an access code that is limited to number ofaccesses/views/plays or for a duration of time. The token transactionmodule may also be configured to facilitate a process to secure andcheck for readiness/completeness and consensus on an NFT transaction.

Referring now to FIG. 3 there is shown a flowchart of a method of anowner controlling distribution of media items using a digital vault,such as the digital vault 200 (FIG. 2 ). The flow chart has both a start305 and an end 395, but the process is cyclical in nature. Thedescription of FIG. 3 is with respect to one owner, though the digitalvault is a multiuser system which supports concurrent operationsregarding multiple owners and their respective accounts.

The method of FIG. 3 may include major steps corresponding to modules ofFIG. 2 . That is, the major steps include account creation 310 throughthe account management module 210, access control 320 through the accesscontrol module 220, upload 330 through the upload module 230, sharing ofmedia 340 through the sharing module 240 tracking and time stamping theactivity of reviewers through the activity tracking module and songmanagement 360 through the management module 260. The digital vault mayprovide a user interface to the owner's control device through which theoperations described herein are performed by the owner and the controldevice. These user interfaces may be provided by the respective modules.

In account creation 310 an owner accesses the digital vault, such asthrough a website or an app on their control device which connects tothe digital vault, and activates an account. Accounts may be created atinitial sign-on or in advance. At the owner's initial connection to thedigital vault, the owner's account is activated, and basic accountsettings configured. For example, the digital vault may obtain a user IDand a password for the owner. After validation of the initialinformation the digital vault (hen activates the account for the owner.Through the account management module, the owner can change passwordsand other typical account management operations.

In access control 320, the owner logs into the digital vault. Log-in maybe through the same website or app as in account creation 310, oranother on the owner's control device which is connected to the digitalvault. The digital vault validates the user and, once validated providesthe user/owner access to their account. From within the access controluser interface, the owner can then perform various other operationsincluding upload 330, sharing 340 and management 360.

In upload 330, the digital vault obtains media items from the owner. Inthis regard the digital vault may provide a user interface for the ownerto identify one or more media items to upload to the digital vault. Theupload user interface may allow the owner to select media items storedin their control device or elsewhere, such as cloud storage. The digitalvault may then upload the selected media items into its repository, suchas the repository 115 (FIG. 1 ). Uploading may take the form of copyingthe media item, or may be storage of a pointer to or address of thelocation identified by the owner. The upload module 230 automaticallyrecords a timestamp in the digital vault of receipt of each media itemfrom the owner.

In sharing 340, the sharing user interface allows the owner to identifyone or more reviewing users and the media items in the music owner'saccount to which the reviewing users are provided access. The sharinguser interface may also allow the owner to set streaming limitations.The limits may be set with respect to an individual reviewing user or agroup of reviewing users, and with respect to an individual media itemor a group of media items. The total number of plays may be limited.Total amount of time played may be limited. Availability of media itemsfor playing may be limited, such as for fixed deadline or a periodbeginning from some milestone such as first play or log in. The sharinguser interface may allow the owner to select streaming players whichreviewing users are authorized to use for streaming their media items,or which are not permitted. The digital vault may include counters and atracking database to track numbers of listens, length of each listen,etc. In sharing, the sharing user interface allows the owner to assignindividual access codes authorizing the reviewer to enter the owner'svault and allowing for specific tracking of the reviewer's activity andidentifying the machine ID of the reviewer. The individual access codeswould be specific to an individual reviewer and would not betransferable. The individual access codes for reviewers would becontrolled by the owner and could be one-time review codes for a singlesession or may be a reviewer specific code that could be reused only bythat reviewer on more than one reviewing occasion. A log file would becreated for each individual reviewer who receives an access code showingand time-stamping the date of their activity, the duration of theiractivity by specific media item and the exact time they exited thedigital vault.

In management 360 the management user interface allows the owner tomanage the media items in the owner's account. Management may includeassigning metadata and reporting. Metadata may be obtained from varioussources. The management user interface may allow the owner to providemetadata, such as media item name, for the media items stored in theiraccount. The digital vault, such as through the management module 260(FIG. 2 ) may automatically create and store as metadata for each mediaitem a length of the media item. Other metadata may include album name,performing artist names, producer name, arranger name, recordingengineer name, recording studio name, recording date and time, authorname, lyrics author name, genre and sub-genre.

The management user interface may also provide a report to the owner ofplays of their respective media items by the reviewing users. The reportmay identify the respective media item names and the respectivereviewing users, plus playback information such as the timestamp of thestart of the stream, the length of time of the stream, whether the mediaitem was played in full or stopped early, and total number of streams.Reporting may be with respect to an individual reviewing user or a groupof reviewing users, or an individual media item or a group of mediaitem.

Whether a media item has been fully played may be defined by criteria.The simplest criteria would be that the media item has been played fromstart to finish without interruption. That is, the complete file hasbeen streamed. The management user interface may allow the owner todefine different criteria for defining a play. One play may be definedas the stream continuing for a predetermined period of time, or througha predetermined percentage. However, all authorized music plays for amusic reviewer would be logged in and a record kept of any plays by thereviewer utilizing a specific authorized access code regardless of theduration of the play period of lime. This will prevent reviewers frommanaging their playing time to keep the play session under a specific orpredetermined period of time.

In management 360, the user interface may also allow the owner toassociate one or more images and/or videos with songs and/or albums. Thevideos may include the respective songs. The management user interfacemay allow the owner to designate images, videos and other files, andupload these files in association with designated media items.

Referring now to FIG. 4 there is shown a flowchart of a method of areviewing user receiving controlled distribution of media items. Theflow chart has both a start 405 and an end 495, but the process iscyclical in nature. The description of FIG. 4 is with respect to onereviewing user, but the digital vault supports concurrent operationsregarding multiple reviewing users along with multiple owners.

The method of FIG. 4 may include major steps corresponding to themodules of FIG. 2 . That is, the major steps include access control 420through the access control module 220 and playing 450 through the playmodule 250. The digital vault may provide a user interface to thereviewing user's reviewing device through which the operations describedherein are performed by the reviewing user and the reviewing device.These user interfaces may be provided by the respective modules.

In access control 420 the reviewing user, through their reviewingdevice, is provided access to media items in an owner's account. Thismay be in response to an owner, in the access control step 320 of FIG. 3, designating the reviewing user for access to media items in theowner's account. The digital vault may then send a message to thereviewing user, inviting the reviewing user to access the media items.The invitation may include media item metadata such as media item nameand name of the owner. The invitation may be an email message which,when opened obtains data from the digital vault and also shares metadatafrom the reviewing device with the digital vault. The invitation may beprovided through other electronic communications channels, such as textmessaging and social networks. The digital vault may support offlineinvitations, such as through automated mailing.

The invitation may include links or credentials for the reviewing userto play media items in the owner's account. When activated by thereviewing user, the link may cause a user interface display from thedigital vault to be displayed on the reviewing device. The userinterface may provide additional metadata about the media item anddisplay images or video, such as that obtained by the management module360 (FIG. 3 ). Activation of the link may cause a streaming media playeron the reviewing device to be activated. The invitation may include aspecific access code that is specific to the music reviewer andnon-transferrable. The access code may be for a review session of asingle designated media item or may be for multiple review sessions overa predetermined period of time with a specific beginning and endestablished by the owner for the specific reviewer.

When the reviewing user gains access to the media item, the digitalvault may capture relevant event metadata such as identification of thereviewing user and an activation timestamp. Reviewing users may beprovided with an access code, such as from the owner or the digitalvault, that is either a single use, disposable access code or auser-specific, non-transferrable access code that remains valid for apre-determined period of time established by the music owner. In theevent that the reviewer requests additional affiliated members of thereviewer's organization or network be allowed to access the owner'smedia items in their vault, the owner could provide for additionalauthorized users to the specific access code given to the reviewerprovided through the use of a suffix related to a specific individualthat is part of the reviewer's organization or network. Alternatively, anew access code could be issued to every individual reviewer regardlessof their affiliation with another authorized reviewer. Further amechanism could be created whereby any additional authorized reviewersadded to the primary authorized reviewer's organization or network,would be issued single use or extended, pre-determined period of timeaccess codes under a group umbrella access code designation so that allaffiliated members of a reviewer's circle of individuals can be trackedas part of a single reviewer group. Each subsequent request to play theowner's media items by the reviewer would require a new access code orwould have to qualify under the pre-determined duration and scope of theaccess code already issued to that reviewer.

After accessing the digital vault 420 the reviewing user may beginplaying 450. Streaming of the media item may initiate automatically.There may be a user interface which allows the reviewing user to changethe streaming of the media item. This user interface may be integratedwith the streaming media player in the reviewing device, and/or providedby the digital vault. Through this user interface the user may requestto jump back or ahead in the stream. However, the listening module 320may limit the reviewing user to plays, streaming media players andstream controls as set by the owner in the sharing module 340. Theplaying module 450 may record event metadata of each stream by thereviewing user, such as an identifier of the reviewing user, a timestampof the start of the stream, and either a timestamp of the stop of thestream or a length of time of the stream. The metadata may also includestream controls by the reviewing user such as requests to jump back orahead in the stream.

The play module 250 may record the type of streaming player used. Theplay module 250 may restrict the reviewing user to stream using only thestreaming players selected by the owner, such as through the sharingmodule 340.

During play 450, the reviewing user may be provided options to listen toadditional media items, or to repeat a media item, such as until thereviewing user is satisfied.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example container-based content management systemin accordance with one embodiment. In this example of a container-basedcontent management system 610, a content creator creates media contentfor publication. Creators can include, for example, writers, performers,arrangers and so on. The media content can include, for example, audiocontent, video content, image content, written works, multimediacontent, and so on. Content management 610 may provide one or more of aplurality of vehicles by which content creators may store theircompleted or in process works in a container file 612 that includes ametadata file associated with the works. The metadata file in container612 can include the metadata itself, links to locations where themetadata is stored, or a combination of the foregoing.

In this example, applications such as a browser application 614 (e.g.,in a web-based application), a mobile app 616 (e.g., such as may be madeavailable on a smart phone, tablet, or other portable device), and adesktop application 618 (e.g., such as may be made available on adesktop computer, server, laptop computer, or other computing device)may be used by the creators 610 to store their content in a container612. These applications 614, 616 and 618, and other applications may beused by creators 610 to create content, review content, modify contentand share content that they created. The data in container 612 may beencrypted or compressed, stored using a markup language such as JSON orXML, or a combination of the foregoing.

The files in the container or the container itself may be stored,retrieved and updated locally by access to a local copy associated withthe user's device. Additionally, the files in the container or thecontainer itself may be stored, retrieved and updated via a networkconnection to a server 626 that stores and accesses the files on storagedevice 622. Accordingly, the creation portion of the system can beconnected to data store 622, which is preferably a secure data storageenvironment at which multiple containers 612 may be stored for access bycreators and entities with whom which creators wish to share theircontent. One example of a secure data store 622 is the digital vault forcontent owners disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 9,836,619, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Local applications or other portals can be provided to allow creators orother custodians to manage, play and update the content and data. Inthis example, the content management applications 614, 616, 618 accessdata store 622 and it server 626 via the Internet 624. In otherexamples, a data storage unit such as data store 622 can be a local datastorage unit such as, for example, a disk drive on the creator'scomputer or other storage unit accessible over a LAN or other availablenetwork, a flash drive (e.g., thumb drive, jump drive, etc.) or otherlocal storage unit. In further examples, a data storage unit such asdata store 622 can be a remote storage unit accessible by means otherthan the Internet such as, for example, a WAN or other wired or wirelesscommunications interface. As this example also illustrates, a storedcontainer file 612 can be shared by server 626 with third parties at thedirection of the creators or other authorized personnel.

FIG. 7 illustrates a high level example of a creator accessing a contentmanagement system to create and store a container file in accordancewith one embodiment. With reference now to FIG. 7 , in this examplecreator 610 accesses a content management application 615 (e.g.,application 614, 616, 618) on a user device 611 (e.g., smart phone,tablet, laptop, desktop computer, server, rig, etc.) to create acontainer file 612. Container file 612 can be stored locally orremotely. This example, similar to the example of FIG. 6 , illustratesapplication 615 accessing a server 626 and data store 622 by acommunications interface such as the Internet 624.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process for content management using acontainer file in accordance with one embodiment. In this example, anartist, or a plurality of artists in collaboration, create content atoperation 720. As noted above, the content created can be any of anumber of different forms of media (including multimedia) content suchas audio, video, and so on. The created content can include a completedpiece of content or it can be content that is still a work in progress.For example, the created content can be partially completed elements ofa song, video production, or other media content that a collaborator orco-collaborators are working on but have not yet finished. As anotherexample, the created content can be a completed song, video productionor other media content that the collaborator or collaborators havecompleted.

At operation 722, the creators store the created content in a containerfile. The creators also store metadata associated with the content inthe container file. In some circumstances, at least some of the metadatamight be stored prior to storage or creation of the content. In othercircumstances, at least some of the metadata might be stored when thecreators store the content. In yet other circumstances, at least some ofthe metadata might be stored after the content is created and stored.Because the system can store content and metadata for works in progressas well as completed works, the system can allow receipt, management,sharing and tracking of content during the creation process as well asafter the creation is complete. Where one or more users store contentelements for a given created content in the system, the system can beconfigured to flag each of those users as potential co-collaborators forthat given created content. Accordingly, the system can automaticallygather metadata even during the creation process.

At operation 722 users and the system may also store NFT metadata in thecontainer file. NFT metadata may include metadata specific to acontemplated NFT transaction such as, for example, ownership rights forthe salable item subject to the NFT transaction; owner informationincluding contact information; token/s NFT information such as:ID/Pointer to the salable item, restrictions on the item (e.g., nNumberof play limitations, Time expiration, ID/pointer to artwork, Smartcontract information (e.g., ID and pointers, user-friendly readable textinformation, etc.); NFT physical or service perks information andtracking (e.g., tickets, concierge services, physical memorabilia, CD,Vinyl Record, etc.); contracts and agreements and other relevantinformation.

At operation 724, the content management system checks the container toensure that it is complete. Particularly, the system can check todetermine that the appropriate items of metadata are included, dependingon the type of content stored. For example, different types of metadatamay be specified for different types of content. Examples of metadatathat might be stored in the container file for audio content are listedin Table 1.

TABLE 1 METADATA EXAMPLES CREATOR IDENTIFICATION OWNERSHIP INFORMATIONROYALTY PAYMENT INFORMATION DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION RELEASE METADATA ANDFILES LYRICS SHEET MUSIC COPYRIGHTS AGREEMENTS ALBUM ARTWORK WORK FORHIRE CONTRACTS PERFORMER AND COMPOSER INFORMATION OTHER METADATA

As noted above, the system may also be configured to check that the NFTmetadata is complete as well. FIG. 29 illustrates examples of NFTmetadata that may be included in the container to facilitate NFTtransactions and that may be checked during the verification operation724. FIG. 29 also lists assets and files that may be included in thecontainer associated with NFT or other token transactions includingcontracts and agreement files; audio, video or other content files;artwork or other image files; and other content or other files.

Checks to ensure that the container is complete with the appropriateforms of metadata (including NFT metadata) can be done at differenttimes. For example, the system may check to ensure that the container iscomplete when the content is first stored in the container, periodicallyafter the container is created or in response to a user query. In someinstances, the container can be configured to check certain of thecontent items for compliance with the requirements such as, for example,ensuring that an ISBN number is numeric and that it contains 13 digits.As another example, the system can check file types to ensure thecorrect file type is logged for the metadata it is purported torepresent. For instance, the system might be configured to check toensure that data stored as Album Artwork is a .jpg, .tiff, .gif or otherappropriate file type. In further embodiments, the system may beconfigured to inspect files for content to ensure files are of theappropriate type for the metadata they are purported to represent. Inthis manner, the system may be programmed to scan purported contracts todetermine whether certain language is present confirming it is at leastthe appropriate document type. This may be based on programminginstructions to search for certain text strings, or on an AI trainedmodel employed to predict document types based on content.

As these examples illustrate, when checking for completeness of themetadata, the content management system may be able to check whethercertain metadata items are present, but may not be able to verify theaccuracy or comprehensiveness of each item. For example, while thesystem might check to confirm that one or more creators are identified,the system may not know whether all creators have been identified. Insome embodiments, the system can send reminders not only for metadataitems that appear to be incomplete, but also to remind users to verifythat metadata items that appear to be complete are in fact complete andaccurate. For example, the system can generate and send a message to theoriginal creators and query them to ensure that no co-collaborators havebeen left off of the information collected. Because this can be donesomewhat contemporaneously with the creation of the content, or at leastwith the deposit of the content into the container, this information canbe gathered while collaborators are still around and recollections ofcollaborators and their relevant contributions are likely to be freshand accurate.

Additionally, there may be different levels of completeness forcontainer files. For example, in some applications a first level ofcompleteness (e.g., Level I) the indicated container is ready fordistribution to certain recipients or types of recipients, but that itis not ready for other distribution. For example, Level I may meancomplete for purposes of distribution to producers or publishers forreview, but not yet ready for production. As another example, Level Imay mean that the container is complete for distribution to certainstreaming services, but not for other streaming services. Continue withthese examples, Level II may indicate completeness for all streamingservices whereas Level III may be required for certain licensingactivities, and so on. As these examples indicate, different levels canbe custom defined for various containers or for different content typesand the system can be configured to check for levels of completeness.

Where the container appears complete, the system can set a flag or otherindicator indicating that it is complete. Where the container isincomplete, the system may set a different flag on the container,indicating that materials are missing. The flag may be in various formssuch as a change in the file name, a change in the file extension, anindicator or other alert associated with the container, data in adesignated field in the container, or other designation that mayindicate the completeness status of the metadata. The system may also beconfigured to send an alert to the creators or other users indicatingthat the metadata does not appear to be complete or ask them to verifythe completeness of metadata that does appear to be complete. Forexample, the system may send a message to a user stating that thecontainer is not complete. This message may further include a list ofthe metadata that is missing or a list of errors that appear to havebeen found in the metadata (e.g., wrong file type). This information mayalso be stored in a determined location in the container file itself, soothers accessing the file may view this information as well. In yetfurther embodiments, the system may track container status as a centralfunction such as, for example, by maintaining a log of containers andtheir statuses at a central or other accessible location or locations.As another example, the system may send a message to a user stating thata metadata element appears to be complete but asking the user to verifyaccuracy and completeness of the information.

As another example, where the system automatically created metadata notinput by the users (e.g., identified users uploading content ascollaborators), the system may be configured to generate and send amessage to provide this gathered metadata to one or more users askingthe one or more users to verify that the automatically created andstored metadata is accurate and complete. The users can verify theaccuracy and completeness or update it to include corrections oradditional information.

Different components of the content management system may be configuredto ensure that the container is complete, to set flags indicating acompleteness status and to send alerts to users. In some embodiments,the application on which the content is created may read the containerfile, compare the contents to the expected contents and determinewhether the container is complete. This function may also be performedby a server and data store storing containers (e.g., server 626 and datastore 622). Also, viewer applications or other creator or editorapplications (in addition to the specific application on which thecontent was created) may also be configured to perform these functions.

In operation 726, the content management system can be configured todistribute one or more containers at the direction of or with thepermission of their respective creators or other custodians. Forexample, a creator may direct the content management system (e.g., thecreator's application or the server) to send one of his or her containerfiles to a third party. The content management system can send thecontainer to the designated recipient or recipients and track thecontainer. In addition to tracking collaboration and other recipientsoutside of or absent an NFT transaction, the system can also beconfigured to track content shares to or accesses by purchasers orpotential purchasers as part of an NFT transaction. The container can beprotected such as by encryption, by password protection, by keying it todesignated recipients, and so on. The system can set up tieredprotection such that different recipients might have different levels ofaccess to the container and the contents therein. For example, somerecipients might be able to access everything in the container, whereasother recipients might only be able to access certain container items.As another example, some recipients might be given read-only access toone or more items in the container whereas other recipients might begiven read/modify/write access. The system can be configured to trackevery user or entity who had access to the content as well as rightsthat were given to such users and entities as well as their accessparameters such as, for example when they accessed it, what theyaccessed it, for how long they accessed it, and so on.

Where the container is a container housing a salable item for a tokentransaction, items in the container may be identified for distributionby a user and checked for completeness by the system. For example,certain items in the container may be identified as being available topotential rights purchasers at different times such as before submittinga bid or offer to purchase rights, after submitting a bid or offer topurchase rights, or on completion of a purchase of rights in the salableitem in the container. As a further example, the offeror may provide asample of the work whose rights are up for sale as well as other worksproviding information about the work for sale such as, for example, factsheets, promotional materials (e.g., sound clips, video clips,brochures, etc.), a term sheet, and so on. In some embodiments, the workup for sale may be made available to potential purchasers for sampling.Further to this example, the system can be configured to provide alimited number of plays or views (or other access depending on thenature of the work). Features described above such as providingdifferent levels of access and security can also be provided in the NFTcontext. For example, this might be implemented to provide differentlevels of purchaser or potential purchaser with different levels ofaccess. Further to this example, a purchaser who paid a deposit orsubmitted a bid may have a different level of access as compared to apurchaser who only provided an indication of interest. Likewise, once atransaction is complete and a purchaser has completed the purchase(e.g., including remitted the funds) that purchaser may be granted fullaccess rights to the content as specified in the smart contract. Wherethe sale is exclusive, at this time access by others may be terminatedand from this point forward governed at the direction of the new owner.Where the purchased rights are nonexclusive or not yet exhausted (e.g.,a nonexclusive license or a fractional ownership) other potentialpurchasers and bidders may be permitted to continue to enjoy the accessrights they had prior to the other party completing his or her purchase.

In further embodiments, the system may be configured to provide a‘translation’ of the term sheet to buyers or potential buyers.Embodiments may be implemented in which a processing module of thesystem (e.g., token transaction module 295 or other module) translatesthe machine-readable version of the smart contract governing the subjecttransaction into an English language (or other human-readable) form suchthat the buyer or potential buyer understands the terms of therespective NFT transaction. This can be presented in term sheet or otherform and can describe, for example, the rights purchased (e.g., outrightpurchase, a license for X quantity of specified views or plates, alicense for views or displays for a specified duration; and so on).Financial and residual rights can also be specified in the contract anda description provided to the user. These might include, for example,the cost of the transaction, royalties or other fees due to the seller(and in some instances other authors or owners), resale rights, paymentsdue to the owner (and in some instances other authors or owners) in theevent of a resale, and any other rights, obligations or restrictionsthat may be included as part of the transaction. The system may also beconfigured to accept an English language or other human readable form ofterms and conditions from the seller and to compile those into themachine-readable contract automatically such at the smart contract canbe created from a human generated term sheet.

In various embodiments, the custodian or custodians may be dynamic inthat they can change over time as permissions change, such as when newpersons are given access levels to view/modify content, or permissionsare revoked from other persons.

The system may further be configured such that when the file is opened,the viewer application verifies the data in the local copy of thecontainer against the data in the primary storage location (e.g., thedata stored in the cloud) to determine whether any changes have beenmade since the transfer. If any changes were made, those changes may behighlighted to the viewer. Additionally, if authorized, an updatedversion of the file can be downloaded to the viewer. Likewise, changesmade by a file recipient can be shared with other custodians (e.g.,original content creators, other authorized viewers or editors) and theycan be highlighted so that changes can be easily identified. Embodimentsmay require that such changes be approved by an authorized custodianprior to acceptance.

At operation 726, where a salable item is being transferred using an NFTtransaction, the system might further be configured to mint an NFT anddistribute the NFT to the new owner(s) and record the transaction in thedistributed ledger. The system can also update the container data,including the NFT and other metadata to reflect the transaction. In someembodiments, as noted above, the system can be configured to create anew container for an NFT transaction and place the salable item subjectto the transaction in the container. Accordingly, at operation 726 thetransfer may encompass transferring rights to the container to the newowner of those rights.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example creation of a content container inaccordance with one embodiment. More particularly, FIG. 9 illustrates anexample of how an existing audio file such as a WAV, MP3, etc. file canbe associated with, concatenated with or appended to include metadata(e.g. .TUNE data) and other data from the cloud to create a new filethat could be played with an existing audio player (such as aconventional mp3 player). In this example, the resulting file includesthe original audio file and information or data that might be includedwith it, and the additional metadata while retaining compatibility forplay back with a conventional audio player. In this example, an originalcontent file (in this case an audio file) 762 and a content metafile 764are loaded into container 612. Content file 762 created by one or morecreators might be a file such as a WAV, MP3, AAC, WMA or other audiofile. The final container in this example includes the original audiofile (or files) and the metafile(s).

Metafile 764 can be a collection of data that is added to container 612.In other embodiments, metafile 764 may be a specific or proprietary filestructure that has a specified file format and may require a particularapplication to read, write or modify it. In the example illustrated inFIG. 9 , metafile 764 is a proprietary .TUNE file type accessed with acompatible application. In other embodiments, other file types may bespecified. In another application, the container 612 is a file with aspecified file format (e.g., the .TUNE file) that can be loaded andaccessed/played with a corresponding file player. As noted above,metadata (which may be stored in metafile 764) may include NFT metadataas well as other content metadata.

This example of FIG. 9 can be implemented to preserve backwardcompatibility with existing audio players while still including thecapability to associate or store metadata which might be accessed, forexample, via a particular viewer or application. Stated another way,embodiments may append metadata to an existing standard audio file whilemaintaining backwards compatibility with existing audio players so theycan play the file as is a standard playable audio file, but when thecontainer is opened by a proprietary app configured to work withcontainer files, the app would know how to play the file and extract allthe additional metadata as well.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example process for creating a container inaccordance with one embodiment. At operation 832, one or more creatorscreate a content item. For example, recording artists/musicians mayrecord a song or an album. Although in various embodiments any contentitem created may be suitable for sale (in whole or in part, or alone orin combination), in various embodiments, the content created can be acontent item created as an NFT content item intended for sale using anNFT transaction. Any container created for the content can be aspecial-purpose container created to hold the content for the NFTtransaction, and ultimately for the new owner who acquired rights in thecontent as a result of the NFT transaction.

At operation 834, the creators provide the content they created to acontent management application (e.g., content management application615) so that the content can be assigned a container 612. Someembodiments may assign NFT content to an NFT container, for example, acontainer that is created specifically for NFT content to accommodateNFT metadata. However, in other embodiments, content may be assigned toa container not configured to store NFT metadata, but such containersmay be modified by the system later on to accommodate NFT metadata.Accordingly, the application receives the content created at operation832 and creates a container in which the received content can be stored.In some embodiments, the content created at operation 832 may be contentthat was previously created without specific contemplation of an NFTtransaction, and that was later designated as being subject to NFTtransaction and placed into an NFT container. In other embodiments, thecontent created at operation 832 may have been created specifically withthe notion that rights to that content (or parts thereof) would be madetransferable via an NFT transaction.

At operation 836, the creators or other authorized users add metadataassociated with the created content to the created container. Where anNFT transaction is contemplated, NFT metadata can be included as well.Accordingly, the application receives the metadata associated with thecontent created at operation 832 and stores this metadata in thecontainer 612 created for the content. Although the metadata may bestored in any of a number of different file formats, some examples ofmetadata file formats are described below.

At operation 838, the system checks for the completeness of metadata.Specifications may be created identifying the types of metadata itemsthat are expected to be included for a particular content type.Accordingly, the system may identify the content type (e.g., based onthe file extension or extensions for multiple files, or based on anidentification provided by the creator on a UI), retrieved theappropriate specification for the content type or types included in thecontainer and check the metadata file to determine whether specifiedcontent is included. In terms of the example depicted in Table 1, thesystem may check to ensure that creator information is included, albumartwork is included, royalty payment information is included, copyrightinformation is included, and so on. In other implementations, creatorsmay be given the option to edit the standard specification for metadatafor their particular content or to provide a custom specification fortheir content. In such applications, the system may compare the metadataon file with the custom or semi-custom specification to determinecompleteness. For NFT transactions, the system may check for thecompleteness of any required NFT metadata such as, for example, anidentification of the salable item, a smart contract, other purchaseterms, and so on.

Once the system verifies that the content is present in the metadata iscomplete, the content management system marks the container accordingly.In some embodiments, the system may be configured to check contentmetadata (for example, as described in Table 1) and to also check NFTmetadata. Accordingly, the container can be marked as complete orincomplete for each type of metadata. As noted above, this may includesetting a flag for the container, adjusting a container name, providingan appropriate designation in a field for the container (e.g., complete,NFT ready), emailing the appropriate users (e.g., creators or otherauthorized users) or other appropriate designation technique. This isillustrated at operations 840 and 842. Although not illustrated, thesystem may also inform the user that it believes the container iscomplete. The system may continue at operation 838 to perform periodicchecks for completeness of the container. These checks may be performedat regularly scheduled intervals based on system settings or userpreferences. These checks might also be triggered by system events suchas request to share content, an indication to initiate an NFTtransaction, actions to edit or update content, actions to view orlisten to content, and so on.

At operation 844, even where the system has determined from its checksthat the metadata appears to be complete, the system may be configuredto periodically remind the creators or other designated users to updatethe metadata or to check the metadata to ensure that it is still currentand complete. Users may be able to set the timing for periodic updatesor this timing may be predetermined in the system. Updates may also betriggered based on events. For example, when a user requests thatcontent be shared with a third party, the system may prompt the user atthat time to confirm that the metadata is up-to-date and complete.

If upon completing its verification the system determines that thecontainer is incomplete, the system may prompt the appropriate user orusers for any missing data or information. This is illustrated atoperations 840 and 846. In some applications the user may simply beprovided with a warning that the metadata file appears to be incompleteor that content appears to be missing. In other applications, the systemmay provide a specific listing to the user or users of content ormetadata items that appear to be missing. Accordingly, the user may usethis warning as an opportunity to complete the metadata information.

Where the user subsequently provides additional content or metadata tobe added to the container, at operation 848, the system receives thisadditional data from the user. At operation 850, this data is added tothe container. The system may continue at operation 838 to performperiodic checks for completeness of the container. These checks may beperformed at regularly scheduled intervals based on system settings oruser preferences. These checks might also be triggered by system eventssuch as request to share content, actions to edit or update content,actions to view or listen to content, and so on.

In various embodiments, the content management system may further beconfigured to prohibit users from sending or sharing files to others ifthe metadata appears incomplete. The system may be configured to allowthe user to override the safeguard, in essence verifying that the userhas confirmed the completeness of the metadata despite the systemswarning or that the user is otherwise satisfied that the file can beappropriately shared.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example UI for an application (e.g., application615) for a content management system. This can be implemented as the UIto allow users to view play or otherwise access content in a container,view metadata associated with that content in the container and edit thecontent or the metadata in the container. With reference now to FIG. 11, this example UI 1100 includes a plurality of user selection elements(e.g., physical or touchscreen buttons) allowing the user to access theinformation. Shown are user selection elements for content information932, ownership information 934, credits information 936, royalty paymentinformation 938, master recordings 940, and other documents and files942. Selection of these user selection elements allows the user to drilldown to the next level of data stored in the application. For example,selection of content information 932 (in the case of audio content,song/album/EP information) allows the user to view or edit thisinformation. Selection of the master recordings 940 element allows theuser to play the stored audio or A/V content or to view stored imagecontent. Selection of ownership information, for example, may displaythe various parts of a content item and the ownership shares therein,including any rights held via an NFT. FIG. 11 illustrates just oneexample of a UI layout. In other embodiments, other layouts may beprovided and other user selection elements for different data items canbe provided.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example UI for a container viewer in accordancewith one embodiment. As with the example of FIG. 11 , FIG. 12illustrates just one example of a UI layout. In other embodiments, otherlayouts may be provided and other user selection elements for differentdata items can be provided. This example includes a file portion 1010, ametadata portion 1020 and an additional vault data portion 1030.Referring to file portion 1010 first, master recording element 1012allows an authorized user to access and play/view the content stored inthe container. Actuation of master recording element 1012, may launch anappropriate player application and cause the associated content to beplayed.

Status element 1014 allows a user to view and update status informationrelating to assignment of master recording, release dates, anddistribution dates. In some embodiments, this information can bedisplayed in the form of dates such as the date the master recording isassigned, the release date, and the date it is ready for distribution.States may be captured by the system and displayed based on systemactivities (e.g., the actual date that content was released through thesystem) or they may be manually set an update. In other embodiments, thestatus information can be displayed in the form of indicators (asopposed to dates) such as a GREEN status indicator indicating complete,a YELLOW status indicator indicating partially complete and a RED statusindicator indicating incomplete.

Working files element 1016 allows the user to access the content filesassociated with the master. This may allow authorized users to reviewand modify the content files themselves. Actuation of working fileselement 1016 may launch an appropriate editor application allowing thecontent to be accessed, reviewed and modified by the authorized user.

Fingerprint element 1018 can be included to provide a containerfingerprint. The container fingerprint can include an audit log ofactivities occurring associated with the container. Activities mayinclude actions such as changes to the container contents (e.g.,updates, additions, deletions), access actions, transfers/shares of thecontainer, and other events. The activities may also include anidentification of those accessing the container, the date and time ofaccess, duration of access, portions of the content accessed and so on.The log may, like other contents, be encrypted or otherwise protected.Container activities can also be managed and tracked using blockchain orother distributed ledger technology.

Metadata section 1020 can provide user interface elements to allow usersto access and revise metadata for the container. This exampleillustrates user interface elements for ownership information 1022,distribution information 1024 and supporting documents 1026. Selectionof interface element for ownership information 1022 allows the user topull up, view and modify ownership information for the content in thecontainer. Selection of interface element for distribution info 1024allows the user to pull up, view and modify current distributioninformation. This may be used to track and display parties to whomcontent has been distributed, set distribution parameters for parties toreceive the information (e.g., identify who where and when to send theassociated content or the entire container), and to track dates andtimes of distribution and access. Selection of interface element forsupporting documents 1026 can allow users to pull up, view and modifyother metadata items in the container such as, for example, associatedsong lyrics, sheet music, album artwork, contracts, copyrightinformation, licenses, and so on.

Additional vault data portion 1030 may be included to allow additionaldata to be tracked and stored for the content in the container. Thisexample includes three storage elements, certified song reviews 1032,distribution information (e.g., Distro100 data) 1034, and social data1036. The certified song reviews storage element stores reviews of thecontent and allows a user to access and view reviews of the content. Insome cases, reviews may be limited to certified or verified reviews,whereas in other implementations, all reviews can be included.Distribution information interface element stores, and allows the userto access, view and modify distribution data regarding thewho/when/where the content was distributed on a streaming basis.Streaming data from providers such as TuneGo™, Distro100™, Spotify™,Pandora™, and others can be accessed via this interface element. Socialdata storage element 1036 stores and allows the user to access datagathered by the system from social media and like sites. The gathereddata may relate to the content, the artist, the publisher or other likeinformation. The system may also store and allow the user to accesssocial media links where this information can be accessed from itssource.

In various embodiments, these and other additional vault data items canbe collected by unaffiliated or third-party service providers andaggregated for quick and easy access by the container application user.As the above examples illustrate, listener/critic review data frommultiple sources, streaming data from a plurality of streaming providersand social data from various social media sources can be collected,distilled and made available to the user via the interface elements inadditional vault data portion 1030. Note that each of the interfaceelements in FIGS. 11 and 12 may be used to access an item directly or todrill down to a deeper level user interface.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example scenario of collaborative music creationin a cloud environment in accordance with one embodiment. FIG. 14illustrates an example process for collaborative music creation inaccordance with the example of FIG. 13 . In this example, two creators610 use applications 615 to create content, which can be stored on adata store 622 (e.g., a vault) at server 626. Creators 610 use thesystem to share their content file, or a container 612 including thecontent file with a third party 611.

At operation 1132, the system creates a container to contain the contentcreated by creators 610 and the associated metadata. As noted above, thecontainer created can be container configured to accommodate NFTtransactions. Creators 610 may use the system application 615 tocollaboratively create the content and store it in a container with theassociated metadata (e.g., as an audio file 762 and a metafile 764). Atoperation 1134, the system verifies that the metadata associated withthe content is complete. For example, this verification can be performedby application 615 during or after content creation or by server 626when the container is provided to data store 622 for storage.

At operation 1136, the system receives a request by one or more of thecreators 610, or from an authorized user, to share the content or theentire container 612 with a designated recipient 611. This may be done,for example through application 615, server 626 or a combination of thetwo. This request can also be made in the context of an NFT transaction.For example, an owner may make a request to share a salable item in acontainer with potential purchasers via a token transaction. As notedabove, in some embodiments the system may create a separate containerfor the salable item. The system may also be configured to ensure thatappropriate permissions from other owners (e.g., creators, contributorsor otherwise) is obtained before any content can be shared incontemplation of an NFT transaction. The system can check appropriatepermissions to determine whether the requested transfer or NFTtransaction is permitted. The system can also check completeness of thecontainer (including NFT metadata in the event of an NFT transaction)before transferring and issue any alerts, if appropriate, depending onthe status of the completeness of the container. Examples of adesignated recipient may include, a producer, creator, manager, recordlabel, publisher, a potential or actual purchaser via an NFTtransaction, and so on.

Assuming the users are authorized and the transfer permitted, the systemtransfers the container 612 to the designated recipient 611 at operation1138. At operation 1140, the recipient accesses the container and thecontent therein using an application 617. In various embodiments,application 617 may be the same as or similar to application 615. Insome implementations, application 617 may be limited to a playback onlyapplication whereas another implementations, application 617 may be afully functional application allowing playback and modification. Thesystem may be configured such that application 615 or server 626 keepstrack of the transfers made and can provide reporting to the user suchas, for example via the user interfaces such as those exemplified inFIGS. 11 and 12 .

Upon authorizing a transfer, a sender may specify different levels ofpermission for different recipients. In some instances, certainrecipients may have set levels of permissions. Permissions can identifyparameters such as access types (review, modify, etc.), number of timesaccess is permitted, durations or time windows in which access ispermitted, further sharing rights, and so on. Assuming recipient 611 hasthe appropriate permissions, recipient 611 may modify the content or themetadata and, using application 617, save and updated container filelocally or in data store 622, or otherwise transfer the updatedcontainer file to the content creators 610 or other content centers.These different levels of permission can apply to recipients 611 who arepurchasers or potential purchasers of rights via an NFT transaction.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example scenario of music creation in a localenvironment in accordance with one embodiment. FIG. 16 illustrates anexample process for music creation in accordance with the example ofFIG. 15 . In this example, a creator 610 uses an application 615 tocreate content, which can be stored on a data store 622 (e.g., a vault)at server 626. Creator 610 uses the system to share its content file, ora container 612 including the content file with a third party 611.

With reference now to FIGS. 15 and 16 , at operation 1232, the systemcreates a container to contain the content created by creator 610 andthe associated metadata (which may include NFT metadata). As notedabove, the container created can be container configured to accommodateNFT transactions. Creator 610 may use system application 615 to createthe content and store it in a container (e.g., container 612) with theassociated metadata (e.g., as an audio file 762 and a metafile 764). Atoperation 1234, the system verifies that the metadata associated withthe content is complete. For example, this verification can be performedby application 615 during or after content creation or by server 626when the container is provided to data store 622 for storage.

At operation 1236, the system receives a request by creator 610, or froman authorized user, to share the content or the entire container 612with a designated recipient 611. This may be done, for example throughapplication 615, server 626 or a combination of the two. This requestcan also be made in the context of an NFT transaction. For example, anowner may make a request to share a salable item in a container withpotential purchasers via a token transaction. As noted above, in someembodiments the system may create a separate container for the salableitem. The system may also be configured to ensure that appropriatepermissions from other owners (e.g., creators, contributors orotherwise) is obtained before any content can be shared in contemplationof an NFT transaction. The system can check appropriate permissions todetermine whether the requested transfer or NFT transaction ispermitted. The system can also check completeness of the containerbefore transferring and issue any alerts, if appropriate, depending onthe status of the completeness of the container (including NFT metadatain the event of an NFT transaction). Examples of a designated recipientmay include, a producer, creator, manager, record label, publisher, apotential or actual purchaser via an NFT transaction, and so on.

Assuming the user requesting transfer is authorized and the transferpermitted, the system transfers the container 612 to the designatedrecipient 611 at operation 1238. At operation 1140, the recipientaccesses the container and the content therein using an application 617.The system may be configured such that application 615 or server 626keeps track of the transfers made and can provide reporting to the usersuch as, for example via the user interfaces such as those exemplifiedin FIGS. 11 and 12 .

FIG. 17 illustrates an example scenario of hybrid music creation inwhich multiple creators 610 create content in a cloud-based environmentand another collaborator performs content creation in a localenvironment. This example combines the example illustrated in FIGS. 13and 14 with the example illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16 .

In the various examples disclosed herein, the transfer of a container612 for the files therein can be made by sending the container or filesthemselves or by sending a link to a location where the container or thefiles therein can be accessed. For example, the system may send arecipient a link or other designation to access the container stored indata store 622.

Upon authorizing a transfer, a sender may specify different levels ofpermission for different recipients. In some instances, certainrecipients may have set levels of permissions. Permissions can identifyparameters such as access types (review, modify, etc.), number of timesaccess is permitted, durations or time windows in which access ispermitted, further sharing rights, and so on. Assuming recipient 611 hasthe appropriate permissions, recipient 611 may modify the content or themetadata and, using application 617, save and updated container filelocally or in data store 622, or otherwise transfer the updatedcontainer file to the content creators 610 or other content centers.

If a recipient does not have appropriate permissions, the system may beconfigured to allow the recipient to submit a request for the particularpermission desired (e.g., to update a particular item of data) and topresent the request to designated owners/admins of the data for approvalor denial. Users may be given the ability to adjust settings to specifythe various notifications they would like to receive throughout theprocess of sharing data with other parties.

Application 615 may be implemented to facilitate metadata tracking andupdate. Embodiments can include the ability to display metadata to theuser so that the user can make appropriate updates. The system canfurther be configured to reach out through network connections to verifyof any metadata is out of date. Any out of date data can be flagged andvisually highlighted so the user knows that it is stale data.

In various embodiments, creative asset metadata (including associateddocuments and including NFT metadata) may be appended to an existingmedia file in another file format such as an .mp3, .wav, or other file.In the process, this may create a new file that is readable in itsnative file format by existing applications such as an audio playercapable of reading such files. This preserves theplayability/accessibility of the original content if that is desired.The file may be converted in such a way that when the file is opened bythe specific Viewer/Reader (e.g., application 615) the application willbe able to extract, display and play the additional content.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example description of a descriptor file forcontents of a container 612 in accordance with one embodiment. In thisexample, the descriptor file includes, for each asset, an Asset ID 1310,version information 1312, update information 1314 and identification ofthe asset itself 1316. Asset ID can be any identification information toidentify the various assets in the container, preferably such that eachasset may be uniquely identified. In this example, a numeric designation1-N is utilized. Where different versions are contemplated and may betracked, version information 1312 can be used to designate and displaythe current version of the asset item. In this example, version numbersof the format X.Y.Z are used, although other formats may be utilized.Update information 1314 can be used to capture and display informationrelative to the version number. This example illustrates displaying whomade the update, when it was updated, what the update entails, how itwas approved, and so on. The asset identification 1316 itself in thisexample is a listing of the file. For example, the assets in thiscontainer include a content file (e.g., media file in the form of a.wav, .mp3, etc. file), a document file (e.g. for contracts), an imagefile (e.g., for album cover art), and so on. In some embodiments, the.TUNE file itself can include a version number for version tracking suchthat when updates are made to the contents of the container, thatcontainer's version number can also be updated.

In various embodiments disclosed herein, metadata information, includingNFT metadata, can be multiple separate metadata files or a metadata fileincluding multiple items of metadata content such that can also beloaded into or associated with a container 612. The metadata can be acollection of data items that are added to container 612. In otherembodiments, the metadata can be in a specific or proprietary filestructure that has a specified file format and may require a particularapplication to read, write or modify it (e.g., a proprietary .TUNE file,although other file types may be specified).

Embodiments may be configured such that users can download or extractindividual files or data from the .TUNE file, users can view and listento the files that are included in the .TUNE file, and users can edit orupdate data in the .TUNE file if they have permission. The system canfurther be configured such that updates to a local version will alsoupdate the data on the server (626, 622 and will send notificationsregarding the modifications to other users as well as the owner/admin ofthe content.

In this example a single audio file (label here as a Media File) isillustrated as being stored in the container. Similarly, in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 9 , a single audio file 762 is illustrated as beingstored in container 612. This audio file might be a single track or acollection of tracks (e.g., an album or partial album). Accordingly, analbum can be contained in a single container file 612, or an album canbe contained across multiple container files (e.g., one track of thealbum per container 612). The same can be said for other types ofcontent as well.

Storing items in a container (e.g., container 612) can include, in someembodiments, packaging the items together and wrapping them in acontainer file. The container file can include a file name and can havethe stored items embedded within the file. In other embodiments, thecontainer 612 can be implemented in whole or in part as a virtualcontainer and its contents could potentially be physically located indifferent databases or different locations but linked to or otherwiseassociated with their respective container 612. Accordingly, storingitems in a container can include identifying the items as belonging tothe container. This may be implemented by listing the file names in thecontainer file, using a lookup table to store the filenames included inthe container, identifying the corresponding container for each item bydesignating the container in the filename or file header, or otherwiseassociating the item files with the corresponding container.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a container stored in a data store inaccordance with one embodiment. In this example, container 612 is storedin data store 622 of server 626 which may be accessible via a network624 such as the Internet.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example file structure that can be used for acontainer file 612 in accordance with one embodiment. Although any of anumber of different structures can be utilized, this example structureincludes a header 1411, the content 1412 and metadata 1414. In thecontext of FIG. 9 , content 1412 may include one or more audio files762, and metadata 1414 may include a metafile 764. An example of header1411 is also illustrated in FIG. 20 . Again, any of a number ofdifferent header structures can be utilized. This example header 1411includes a checksum (to verify integrity), a file size indicator,encryption information, identifying information, version information,update history, and other information. As this example furtherillustrates, container 612 may be sent to data store 622 or otherwiseshared via network 624.

In various embodiments, container 612 may be maintained as an integralunit and stored in one location, or copied across multiple locations. Inother embodiments, information in a container 612 may be stored inmultiple locations, but not necessarily all in the same place. FIG. 21illustrates examples of different forms of container storage. At 1332, afully encapsulated container 612 is illustrated. This encapsulatedcontainer includes all data maintained in a single container. At 1334,all of the data for the container (except for the header in thisexample) is stored external to the container. For example, it may bestored at data store 622 accessible via network 624. In other examples,the data can be stored in other locations including multiple locations.Here, pointers or indices are used to point to the locations of thefiles. 1336 illustrates a hybrid approach in which a combination ofinternal (encapsulated data) and external storage are used. Here, thecontainer includes the original audio recording, but at least some ofthe metadata is stored elsewhere in links or indices to that data pointto the data locations.

FIG. 22 illustrates a diagram of an example system to enablecommunications and collaboration of media content in accordance with oneembodiment. System 2210 includes server 2210, data repositories 2240,and one or more user devices 2220 operated by one or more partiesaffiliated with a media content item, including, for example mediumcontent owners, collaborators, contributors, their guests, and otherusers. A network 2230 connects the various devices forintercommunications. System 2210, data repositories 2240, user devices2220, network 2230 may be similar to digital vault 110, repository 115,user devices 125, 135, and network 160 of FIG. 1 .

System 2210 may manage organization, storage and communications of filesand metadata related to media content (e.g., a song, album, video,artwork, track, lyrics, script, single media, etc.). The communicationsmay be related to various entities such as an album, folder, file,ownership, etc. One or more users via their user devices 2220 maycommunicate and coordinate in the development and creation process ofthe media content, as well as for other aspects relating to the mediacontent.

System 2210 may maintain contact information and enable communicationsfor all entities. The communication may be related to the media content,including creation and modification of media content, collaboration onthe creation and modification, coordination of licensing and ownershiprights of the media content, royalty shares in the media content, andother discussions/meetings regarding the media content and relatedtopics. During creation of the media content, as well as any time periodafter the media content has been commercialized, the users can easilycommunicate to review, discuss, and approve various aspects of the mediacontent including, for example, components of the media content (e.g.,images, tracks, lyrics, video sequences, and so on), future licensingopportunities related to the media content, royalty shares for the mediacontent, and other aspects of the media content via system 2210. Thesystem may also be configured to track contributions during thesecommunications to further facilitate identification and tracking ofcontributors.

These and other features described herein constitute improvements overconventional haphazard processes that fail to maintain contactinformation and track communications between parties, leavinguncertainty whether, for example, the necessary approvals are receivedfrom all involved parties and whether all the right parties areidentified as contributors or owners of the content.

The communication data may include audio and/or video data. For example,system 2210 may record group meetings with recording capabilities thatis saved in an audit trail of the media content.

The communication data may be centralized in one location inrepositories 2240 are shared across a plurality of repositories 2240.The user devices 2220 may access repositories 2240 to identify allcommunications, actions, and data associated with the media contentthroughout its lifecycle. Repositories 2240 may maintain a historicalrecording to keep throughout the lifecycle of the media content.

Repositories 2240 may include a transaction log (e.g., containerfingerprint element 1018). Communications and media content audit trailcan help resolve any future disputes or questions that may arise amongstcontributors and/or collaborators. Additional functionality may includecommunications and data logging of transactions related to paymentdistributions such as royalty payments.

The transaction log may be accessible via user devices 2220. The userinterface may display an aggregate of all activities associated with themedia content accessible by the particular user, including a folder,project, or locker from the user's authorized communication channels.This may provide a holistic view of the activities related to the userthat can be displayed and sorted (e.g., the most recent activity first,reverse chronological order, etc.). The data may include a profile name,project name, media content description, transaction log data,timestamp, participants and the like. Different users may be providedwith different access levels to control who is granted permission toview or access various elements of the transaction log.

In addition to messages in the form of audio/video messages, calls andmeetings via user devices 2220, in various embodiments the user devices2220 can generate and transmit electronic messages (e.g., text messages)through system 2210 that are transmitted to other user devices 2220 andstored in repositories 2240. For example, a request message may begenerated to ask other users for feedback on media content, including,for example, a file, album, track, artwork, video or metadata. Theresponse message can be generated by one or more other users andreceived by the original user. In some embodiments, messaging shorthandtechnologies can be used to facilitate the messaging process such asproviding requests and answers in the form of a poll, vote, rating,score, thumbs up or down, or other feedback request. The messagingsystem may be configured to provide user interface attributes for userdevices to facilitate quick responses such as one-touch interface iconsfor responses to poles, votes, requests for rating, thumbs up/downresponses, and so on. The responses may be tallied and stored by thesystem as part of the record.

The electronic messages may propose various requests to one or moreusers in a communication channel where users can respond with an actionthat will get tallied and stored.

The electronic messages can be accessed directly from the system 2210.For example, a song can be shared in a message and one or more users canaccess the song via their user device 2220 and provide a rating for thesong. The song, ratings, and related user information may be stored inrepositories 2240. In another example, a request message can be sent toa plurality of users asking them to confirm updated data is correct(e.g., song title, verse, melody, etc.) and the users can send aresponse message such as by entering a bespoke response or by selectingfrom application-provided responses (e.g., by selecting “Yes” or “No”)via a user interface that can automatically generate the responsemessage. As these examples illustrate, ache medication system can beconfigured to allow real-time audio/video communications among aplurality of participants as well as messaging among the participants.As also noted, records of these communications can be maintained forfuture access as may be useful or necessary.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example communication channel 2300 of the systemin accordance with one embodiment. For example, the electronic messagesmay be transmitted via a communication channel. Each communicationchannel may contain the messages and/or communication history of thecollaborator users associated with the communication channel. Individualcommunication channel strings may include messages from collaboratorusers, the ability to post messages, and/or the ability to share filesfrom repository 2240.

The media content files may be shared via the communication channel. Forexample, when a user desires to share a media content files, the filemay automatically open at the user device and allow the user to selectfiles from their accessible communication channels. When files areshared within the communication channel, all included channelcollaborators (or certain collaborators who have been grantedpermission) may view a link to the shared file, watch/listen to thefile, download the file to their user device and edit the file asappropriate. Different users may be given different levels of permissionfor any or all of the foregoing activities.

When supported media files are shared, audio/video playback may also besupported within the communication channel. For example, media playbackmay be enabled via a collapsed media player application. When usersinitiate audio/video playback of supported media files, the collapsedplayer may appear at the user device 2220 (e.g., above the footer of thedisplay screen, with an ability to expand the media player to a fullscreen player, etc.) and initiate playback of the media file.

System 2210 may provide a mechanism for users to accept or deny variousrequests that are transmitted via the communication channel. Therequests may, for example, be to approve metadata or to approve contentor data updates directly from the communication channel. Thecommunication channels may be associated with objects and metadatastored in a container such as a folder, project, or locker.

System 2210 may establish one or more communication channels as aprivate electronic connection between a plurality of devices (e.g.,communication cables) that can be exclusive to users of the system. Eachcommunication channel may correspond with a private “group chat” forusers who possess the proper access permissions to view electronicmessages transmitted via the communication channel. Cable communicationsare specific to the communication channel. The communication channelshave the ability to transmit, track, and store electronic messages fromall other collaborator users within the communication channel. Thecommunication channel may be exclusive and specific to each private orpublic channel associated with system 2210.

The electronic message may include data associated with the distributionrights of the media content. For example, the user may confirm (or deny)agreement for the ownership, distribution and other rights associatedwith the media content. This may include, for example, ownership sharesin the content, distribution rights for the content, splits/percentages,and so on. As another example, the split percentages may be provided viathe electronic message. When split data is changed, users associatedwith the media content can be sent an electronic message to confirm ordeny the change directly from the message (e.g., by selecting “Confirm”or “Deny” in the message). Users can accept and acknowledge splitspercentages directly within a message or group conversation by selectinga button, digitally signing, or some other interactive action. Uponproviding the response, the data may be updated and stored in repository2240.

An audio or video call may be initiated between two or more users usingsystem 2210. For example, a first user and a second user may initiate anaudio/video call (e.g., between two parties), a group call (e.g.,between more than two parties), or group meetings (e.g., a virtualmeeting room (such as a secure platform where users can join andcommunicate). In any of these instances, the time that the communicationis initiated, the duration of the communication, the parties to thecommunication (and their individual durations) and subject matter of themeeting (e.g., the media content) may be stored with repository 2240. Anaudio/video recording of the call may also be stored in repository 2240.The system may also store documents, media files, or other materialsthat were shared by one or more participants in the call and mayidentify the participant who shared the material during the call.

Embodiments may implement a one-click feature, allowing a user toinitiate a call/message to all users associated with a container orcontent item. Information re contributors for each container or item ina container can be stored for such one-click call/messaging purposes.Embodiments may further be implemented to provide the option to inviteexternal parties (e.g., non-collaborators) to a call or message threadand capabilities may be implemented to control parameters relating tothird-party access such as, for example, limiting the type of accessprovided to certain parties (e.g., read-only access), placing temporalaccess on certain parties (e.g., can only access certain messages forlimited period of time, can only participate on given dates or giventimes, etc.), limiting the types of responses ⅓ party can make, and soon. Likewise, users invited to a message string may be permitted to viewmessages for the entire string or may be limited to viewing onlymessages occurring after that party was included in the string.Embodiments may also be configured to limit non-collaborator access suchas by limiting the quantity of media plays, limiting media plays bytime, code or date and limiting media plays from the point of inclusionin the message string.

From the .tune file or system 2210, the user may provide a singleresponse (e.g., one click) to generate and transmit an electroniccommunication or call to other users (e.g., collaborators) associatedwith the media content (entity/container). System 2210 maintains andmanages contact information and related data, and can enablecommunications to chat, direct message, or one to one calls (e.g., groupaudio, chat, and video).

System 2210 may provide an option to invite external parties to a chatfor a period of time along with various access controls/roles. Forexample, a user can be invited to a communication channel for a week andtheir access could possibly be limited to only viewing communicationsstarting a specified date and/or as a “read-only” user. In anotherexample, the user may be given access to see a history of transactionsassociated with the media content, including conversations (e.g., view,send, etc.).

Communication users may be provided with an access code, such as fromthe music owner or the digital vault, that is either a single use,disposable access code or a user-specific, non-transferable access codethat remains valid for a predetermined period of time established by themusic owner.

An access role can be assigned to an individual electronic message. Forexample, if an electronic message includes a question that requires aresponse (e.g., “Accept” or “Deny,” etc.), it can be read-only orviewable for some users while other users can have access to respond byinteracting with the message. In another example, a user may initiate arequest message that asks for users to confirm data. This may includetheir publishing ownership percentage or other data. Certain users canselect an “accept” or “deny” response while other users can follow theconversation (e.g., view, read-only, etc.) and see their responses.

The owner users may define access rights for collaborator users toaccess data in system 2210, including access rights of a particularcommunication channel. The channel owners may specify if newcollaborator users may view the entire communication history within acommunication channel, or may specify if new collaborator users may viewcommunications within a communication channel from the point ofinclusion going forward until the point of exclusion.

In addition to collaborator users, channel owners may providenon-collaborator users with limited and temporary access tocommunication channels. Non-collaborator users may have limitedaccessibility to data, including limited viewing to communicationswithin a communication channel from the point of inclusion until thepoint of exclusion, as designated by the channel owner. Channel ownersmay limit access to non-collaborators by time (e.g., 1 day, 1 week, 1month, etc.). Channel owners may send disposable codes tonon-collaborators that may include a specified time limit, or number ofplays of an audio file within the communication channel.

The collaborator users may have the ability to share files stored inrepository 2240 privately with the other collaborator users on acommunication channel. The collaborator users may have the ability toplay media content files within the communication channels, includingmusic and video files, within a custom media player that is accessiblevia the communication channel. The activity related to playing orsharing the media content file within the communication channel may berecorded and logged within the transaction log (e.g., containerfingerprint element 1018). As discussed, the transaction log may createan immutable record of file sharing, file downloads, and/or streamingmedia playback within the communication channel. The immutable recordmay be timestamped to provide a chronological history of file activityand collaborator communications within the communication channel.

In some examples, the transaction log (e.g., container fingerprintelement 1018) may save audio or video recordings of the communicationsbetween/among users. This may include discussions, conversations,electronic communications, or public/private channels betweencollaborators (parties) as part of the fingerprint (audit trail,immutable record, etc.). This may also include documents, music,artwork, or other media or files shared during the communication.

FIG. 24 illustrates an electronic communication in accordance with oneembodiment. The electronic message may comprise message information(e.g., text, emoji, etc.), link or pointer to media content (e.g.,audio, video, image, etc.), interactive module (e.g., thumbs up/down,rating, digital signature, etc.), data security information (e.g.,timestamp, internet protocol (IP), unique identifier (ID), checksum,access key, location, etc.), message security, audit information, accessrole information, sender information, recipient information, and/orcontainer identifier.

Various examples of electronic messages are provided. For example, theelectronic message may be transmitted from a first user to a seconduser, where the first user asks for feedback about media content (e.g.,a music track) from the second user. The second user can access themedia content via a private or public communication channel to the mediacontent that is stored with the system (e.g., in repository 2240). Thesecond user can provide the feedback as text or by selecting an optionin the electronic message (e.g., thumbs up or thumbs down, etc.). Inanother example, the first user asks for a confirmation about a writer'sshare of the media content (e.g., a song) from the second user. Thesecond user may provide a percentage value and a digital signature, bothof which may be stored with the system (e.g., in repository 2240). Inanother example, the first user may ask for a confirmation about apredetermined writer's share of the media content (e.g., a song) fromthe second user. The second user may select an option in the electronicmessage (e.g., approve, deny, etc.) which may be stored with the system(e.g., in repository 2240).

Access to system 2210 may be restricted using an onboarding process. Forexample, the users may be registered and can use their credentials tosign in to a mobile application stored at their user device 2220. Usersmay not have the ability to create independent accounts outside of thesystem, so that the system can authenticate and authorize their accessto the data.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of a high level overview of the vaultcomputer system, including communications and messaging. The illustratedsystem in FIG. 25 may correspond, for example, with one embodiment ofdigital vault 110 illustrated in FIG. 1 . For example, the system mayinclude the digital vault, recording and activity tracking (e.g., usersthat access media content, etc.), messaging and communications (e.g.,users that interact digitally via public or private communicationchannels, time stamps, message content, etc.), authentication and accesscontrols (e.g., limited access to media content for certain user IDs,etc.), rights or splits management (e.g., identifying percentage ofcontribution to generating the media content, etc.), and security (e.g.,technically securing media content, etc.). In some examples, the mediacontent may be contained in the container (e.g., in a .Tune filecontainer) to associate one or more content items and metadata discussedthroughout the application. In the illustrated example, various parties2512 may use the communication-enabled platform 2516 for conductingcommunications relating to the development of media content. In thisexample, the parties 2512 include music owners, collaborators,contributors, and may also include guests and other participants. Theseparties 2512 can access the platform 2516 via various devices 2514including, for example, tablets, computers, smart-phones,computer-enabled media creation tools and so on. Platform 2516 mayinclude capabilities for messaging and communications as describedherein, as well as other capabilities such as, for example, thosedescribed above with reference to digital vault 110. The system may alsoinclude various repositories 2518, including the examples illustrated inFIG. 25 .

FIG. 26 illustrates an example configuration for using a digital vaultfor NFT transactions in accordance with one embodiment. With referenceto FIG. 26 , in this example a plurality of applications 2612 areconfigured to access the digital vault such as via a network interface.This example includes a vault application, a communication application,and NFT market application. The vault application may be used, forexample, to perform content management such as is described in thisdocument. The communication application may be used, for example, toperform secure communications such as described with reference to FIGS.22-24 . The NFT market application may be used, for example, tofacilitate NFT transactions by a user. Although illustrated as threeseparate applications, parts or all of these applications may becombined in various ways into one application or a different combinationof multiple applications.

Where rights to a content item are released for (e.g., sale, licensingor other transfer) via a token such as an NFT token, NFT metadata may beincluded in the digital vault as illustrated at 2500. In this example,the NFT metadata includes information that can be used to identify asalable item that is transferable via the NFT. In this case, thisincludes release information (e.g., album, single, EP, name, ISRC,etc.); track information (name, duration, genre, lyrics, etc.); contactinformation (e.g., owners, contributors, publishers, etc.); ownershipinformation (e.g., PRO #, owner identification, tax names, ownershippresents, other owner rights, etc.); assets and files (e.g. audio/videofiles, communication files, recordings, artwork, images, etc.); andtransaction log ledger information (e.g., activity, changes,communications, etc.). As described above, and existing container forthe work that is going up for sale may be used and augmented to includethe NFT metadata, or a new container can be created for the item that isgoing up for sale, and this new container can include the NFT metadata.

This example also illustrates other entities 2618 that may be incommunicative contact with the digital vault. For example, other thirdparties and services may have access to the container housing thesalable item. These can include, for example, purchasers or potentialpurchasers of rights, third-party service providers who may provideservices to facilitate the advertising, promotion, sale and closing ofthe transaction; providers who may supply additional items to accompanythe sale of rights (e.g., concert tickets, celebrity appearances,promotional materials) and other third parties. Additionally, the systemmay be configured to log the NFT transaction on a block chain or otherdistributed ledger.

In some examples, other entities 2618 that may be in communicativecontact with the digital vault may include digital service providers(DSPs). Digital vault 2500 may perform functionality as a hub ofservices, one of which is to provide NFT/Blockchain data by sending andreceiving data with a DSP (e.g., an online store or streaming servicethat features digital albums and singles, Spotify®, Apple Music®,Tidal®, YouTube Music®, etc.).

FIG. 27 illustrates an example configuration for NFT creation andmanagement in accordance with one embodiment. Example processes for NFTcreation and management were described above at least with reference toFIGS. 8, 10, 14 and 16 (and others). FIG. 27 illustrates that contentcreators and owners may access the digital vault including digital vaultdata and NFT data. A content owner may, for example, decide to put hisor her ownership interest in a salable item for sale by way of an NFTtransaction. The system may be configured to give the user the right toflag his or her content for sale and to list that content on an NFTmarketplace. The system may further provide the seller with a digitalvault application (or an application to access a cloud or server-baseddigital vault) and a container for the salable item. The container canbe part of the cloud or server-based vault or it can be a localcontainer in a local instance of a vault stored on the sellers device(e.g. desktop or mobile application). As illustrated, the container onthe digital vault may include the content, sale data, content metadataand NFT metadata.

The NFT marketplace 2712 can include relevant information regarding thesalable item, the contents of which may be determined by the seller. Forexample, the NFT marketplace 2712 can include a listing of the item forsale including pertinent information about the item such as, forexample, a description of the item, artist information, a sample of theassociated content, etc. The listing can also include an asking price ora bid price. In various embodiments, the NFT marketplace can beconfigured to conduct auctions for the salable item. As described above,purchasers or potential purchasers can be given access (e.g. controlledAccess) to items or information in the vault pertaining to the salableitem. This can include, for example, information on the terms andconditions, samples of the content up for sale, and so on.

A communication channel can be established between the NFT marketplaceand the seller either via the digital vault or externally. Once a saleis completed, the transaction can be recorded on the NFT block chain2714 and the sold item transferred to the user. In some embodiments,this transfer is accomplished by giving the new owner access rights tothe file container in the digital vault, where such access rights matchor correspond to the rights actually purchased in the content item.Accordingly, the new owner can access his or her content in the digitallevel. For example, where the new owner has full ownership rights in acontent item, the new owner is free to access the item in the vault,share the item with others and so on. In other words, embodiments can beimplemented in which the new owner can enjoy all of the features,benefits and advantages of the digital vault and container system. Thenew owner may, at his or her discretion, even remove the item from thedigital vault if the new owner no longer wants the item to be maintainedthere. Although embodiments disclosed herein describe recording the NFTtransaction on a distributed ledger, other embodiments may beimplemented that don't utilize a block chain or other distributed ledgerto record the transaction. The content management system can beconfigured to maintain its own registry, for example, to log andauthenticate sale transactions conducted using the system as well asother transactions outside the system.

In various embodiments, when the sale is complete, the system allocatesthe appropriate rights to the container (and the purchased rights) tothe purchaser. For example, in some embodiments, the system can providethe purchaser with a digital vault application and a container with thepurchased rights. The container can include the purchased work or a linkto the purchased work (e.g., via IPFS). The purchaser can have anindividual vault in the name of the purchaser who now becomes theadministrator of that container. The container can be placed into thevault and access controlled by the owner so that the content in thecontainer is secure. The new owner can control things such as, forexample, access codes and access rights, sharing of the work, resellingthe work, and so on.

With various embodiments, selling owners can deposit salable contentinto a separate NFT container for transfer. Once the sale is complete,the content and the container can be transferred to the new owner. Thiscan be analogized to selling the content to the new purchaser includinga locked storage facility that allows the purchased properties to besecured before, during and after the sale. The system can be configuredto control access to the salable items and other content in the vaultbefore during and after the sale and the parameters of access such aswho, when, what and how, can be controlled and changed as appropriateeach step of the way.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of some additional actions that can betaken by a new NFT owner via the digital vault. In this example, a newNFT owner 2810 may access a container in the digital vault 2830 such asfrom his or her computer or mobile device via a network. NFT owner 2810may also have a local copy of the container 2812 that he or she canaccess. As noted above, NFT owner 2810 may opt to share his or her owncontent with other users and otherwise manage the content via thedigital vault content management system.

As described above, FIG. 29 illustrates examples of NFT metadata andother assets/files that can be included in the container.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example NFT UI for a container in accordance withone embodiment. As noted above with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 , thisuser interface is merely one example of a user interface that can beprovided. This illustrates information items that can be included in theUI such as, for example, a description of the NFT, details about the NFTpackage, NFT and other metadata, ownership and contact information forthe content associated with the NFT, messages, communications and notespertaining to the NFT, authorizations and approvals, contributors andcollaborators, and assets.

The NFT description may include, for example, a description of thecontent that is going to be associated with the NFT and the rights to betransferred upon acquisition. For example, this may include informationsuch as whether full or fractional ownership is being transferred,whether ownership or license rights are being transferred, etc. Othermetadata may include content metadata NFT metadata and other metadataitems relevant to the content being transferred. The ownership andcontent information can include information regarding who owns the itemfor which the NFT is going to be minted, what their ownership share is,etc. The Assets field may include an identification of the particularcontent associated with the NFT, and other information such as contractsand agreements associated with the NFT.

The pack details can include, for example, information about other itemsthat may be bundled with the rights to the work that are beingtransferred. This can include, for example, other package items likeconcert tickets, movie passes, backstage passes, vinyl albums, posters,sheet music, T-shirts, memorabilia, or other items that might beincluded as part of a package.

The authorizations and approval section can provide an indication to theuser of which other users whose approvals might be needed to enter intothe transaction (if any) have approved and which have not. In thisexample, a series of check boxes is shown to indicate the approvalsobtained and not yet obtained. The contributors/collaborator sectiondisplays a list of contributors/collaborators for the content associatedwith the NFT transaction. The status bar at the top right hand cornershows the progress of creating, minting and dropping the NFT.

With a token transaction, the smart contract can define the parametersof the transaction this can include, for example, terms such as purchaseprice; agent/broker commissions; royalties or residuals for the seller,co-owners or other contributors; limitations or conditions on rights;and so on. For example, as described herein the content managementsystem may keep track of creation, contribution, and ownership for worksin the vault, which can drive the distribution and split of royalty orother payment rights associated with content items. In someimplementations, payment rights for various transactions associated witha content item may be specified for that content item, such as inmetadata in the vault. Different ‘splits’ may be specified for differentforms of rights in the content (e.g., rights to perform, reproduce,display, distribute, create derivative works, etc.). Similar to or inconformance with this, the NFT (e.g., via a smart contract or otherwise)can specify parties who are to receive payment associated with thecontent being transferred and the splits or distributions they are toreceive. For example, a smart contract associated with the transactionmay specify how payment for the transfer is to be distributed uponreceipt, or who is to be paid what amounts. Where royalty payments,payments for future transfers of the rights or other future payments arecontemplated, the smart contract may specify how such future paymentsare to be distributed or paid among the various rights holders.

In various embodiments, the content management system can be configuredto be the intermediary for the current sale of a content item as well asfor future sales and for royalty or other payments. Embodiments mayfurther be configured in which the content management system collectsthe payments and conducts the distributions associated with a sale,future sales, royalties or other payments that come due. Payments may bedistributed as specified in the smart contract for the subject NFT andthe content metadata can be updated to reflect the payment distributionrules. The content management system can also be configured to act as anescrow agent for such transactions.

Embodiments may also be implemented to encrypt or obfuscate the NFT orledger information that is stored in the public blockchain or otherpublic record. For example any situation in which a popular artist sellsthe rights to his or her song or licenses it to another entity via theVault NFT (or not NFT) they may not want all the information to bepublic like the revenue, plays, ownership percentages, owners, etc. Insuch circumstances, the system can be configured to provide informationin the NFT, Smart Contract, Blockchain, etc. in a manner that can onlybe interpreted (decoded, decrypted, etc. . . . ) by an authorized userhaving access to the digital vault. Further embodiments may beconfigured such that the system can ensure the vault information andassets are immutable based on a hash or some other means so the publicrecord could have the hash, token, keys, and so on that will confirm thevalidity of the data in the vault and what they are viewing in thevault. In such embodiments, when the purchaser wants to resell thesalable item, they can invite the perspective buyers to view the item inthe vault and then when it sells the transaction will be recorded on theblockchain but only the person with access to the vault will be able toaccess the viewable (decoded/decrypted) details and assets pertaining tothat NFT, associated ledger and smart contract terms.

The term “coupled” refers to direct or indirect joining, connecting,fastening, contacting or linking, and may refer to various forms ofcoupling such as physical, optical, electrical, fluidic, mechanical,chemical, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, communicative or othercoupling, or a combination of the foregoing. Where one form of couplingis specified, this does not imply that other forms of coupling areexcluded. For example, one component physically coupled to anothercomponent may reference physical attachment of or contact between thetwo components (directly or indirectly), but does not exclude otherforms of coupling between the components such as, for example, acommunications link (e.g., an RF or optical link) also communicativelycoupling the two components. Likewise, the various terms themselves arenot intended to be mutually exclusive. For example, a fluidic coupling,magnetic coupling or a mechanical coupling, among others, may be a formof physical coupling.

Referring now to FIG. 5 there is shown a computing device 500. Thecomputing devices described herein, such as the digital vault, controldevices, reviewing devices, containers and other instrumentalitiesdescribed herein may be configured as shown in FIG. 5 . The computingdevice 500 includes a processor 520, communications interface 530,memory 540, and an input/output interface 550. Further, although theseelements are shown independently of one another, each may, in somecases, be integrated into one another.

The computing device 500 is representative of the mobile devices andother computing devices discussed herein. For example, the computingdevice 500 may be or be a part of a mobile device or a server. Thecomputing device 500 may include software and/or hardware for providingfunctionality and features described herein. The computing device 500may therefore include one or more of: logic arrays, memories, analogcircuits, digital circuits, software, firmware and processors. Thehardware and firmware components of the computing device 500 may includevarious specialized units, circuits, software and interfaces forproviding the functionality and features described herein. Theprocesses, functionality and features may be embodied in whole or inpart in software which operates on the computing device 500 and may bein the form of firmware, an application program, an app, a dynamiclinked library (DLL), a script, one or more subroutines, or an operatingsystem component or service. The hardware and software and theirfunctions may be distributed such that some components are performed bythe computing device 500 and others by other devices.

The processor 520 may be or include one or more microprocessors,application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or a system-on-a-chip(SOCs).

The communications interface 530 includes an interface for communicatingwith external devices. In the case of a computing device 500, thecommunications interface 530 may enable wireless communication with amobile device. The communications interface 530 may be wired orwireless. The communications interface 530 may rely upon short to mediumrange wireless protocols like Bluetooth®, infrared, and/or 802.11 xwireless or another wireless protocols then in existence.

The memory 540 may be or include RAM, ROM, DRAM, SRAM and MRAM or othermemory systems, and may include firmware, such as static data or fixedinstructions, boot code, system functions, configuration data, and otherroutines used during the operation of the computing device 500 andprocessor 520. The memory 540 also provides a storage area for data andinstructions associated with applications and data handled by theprocessor 520.

The I/O interface 550 interfaces the processor 520 to componentsexternal to the computing device 500. In the case of servers and mobiledevices, these may be keyboards, mice, pens, voice activated systems andother peripherals.

The storage 560 is non-transient electronic, machine readable mediawhich provides non-volatile, bulk or long term storage of data orinstructions in the computing device 500. The software described hereinmay be stored in the storage 560. Storage devices include hard diskdrives, DVD drives, flash memory devices, and other storage devices.Multiple storage devices may be provided or available to the computingdevice 500. Some of these storage devices may be external to thecomputing device 500, such as network storage, cloud-based storage, orstorage on a related mobile device. This storage 560 may store some orall of the instructions for the computing device 500. The term “storagemedium”, as used herein, specifically excludes transitory medium such aspropagating waveforms and radio frequency signals.

The system may also enable collaboration and communication betweenvarious entities to connect portions of the system in creating,distributing, licensing, and managing the media content. For example,the system can be configured to

For example, the system can establish a secure and immutable history ofcommunication and activity associated with media content, including theinception and evolution of the media content. The system can create anaudit trail of the creative discussion process. This may include cloudstorage and filesharing services, group conferencing, messagingapplication, social networking application, direct messagingapplication, and/or music rights and metadata management application orservice. For example, embodiments may be configured to capture and storecommunications among various parties for works being created, modified,managed or stored in the vault, including messages, recordings (e.g.,audio, video etc.), still or motion images (e.g., photographs, artwork,pictures, videos, etc.), timestamps, participants, an identification ofwhich participants contributed which materials, and so on. Accordingly,a complete audit trail of not only items or other materials submittedalso of communications can be maintained in the system.

The communications can be tagged by the particular contributors to eachcommunication and logged with related materials including files andmetadata. The materials can be stored in the vault in the containerassociated with the corresponding content that is the subject of thecommunication. File structures can be used to organize materialsincluding, for example, folders, projects, lockers, profiles, etc.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for content management, comprising:determining, via a digital vault, that a first stakeholder is authorizedto initiate a sale of a salable content item by holding rights in thesalable content item; determining, via the digital vault, whetherconsent for a nonfungible token (NFT) transaction of any stakeholdersother than the first stakeholder is required; and the digital vaultpreventing the sale of the salable content item until consent for thesale is received from the stakeholders from whom consent is required. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: upon the digital vaultdetermining whether consent for the NFT transaction of any of thestakeholders other than the first stakeholder is required, notifying thestakeholders other than the first stakeholder to request consent for theNFT transaction.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: creating,via the digital vault, the salable content item comprising the contentsubmitted by a first user and content metadata; and identifying, via thedigital vault, the salable content item that is to be put up for salevia the NFT transaction.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:sending, via the digital vault, a message to a second user inviting thesecond user to access the salable content item, wherein the second useris different than the stakeholders authorized to sell the salablecontent item and the first user that submitted the content; andconfirming that the second user is authorized to access the salablecontent item based on the message.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein themessage includes an access code used for confirming authorization toaccess the salable content item.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein theaccess code is a single use access code.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein the access code is a user-specific, non-transferable access codethat remains valid for a pre-determined period of time.
 8. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the content metadata comprises at least one of a lengthof the content, performing artist name, producer name, arranger name,author name, recording engineer name, recording studio name, recordingdate and time, genre of the content, and sub-genre of the content. 9.The method of claim 3, further comprising: after the sale of the salablecontent item, updating, via the digital vault, the content metadata inthe salable content item to reflect a change in ownership rights so thatthe salable content item includes metadata specifying rights held by thestakeholders of the salable content item.
 10. The method of claim 3,further comprising: upon identifying the first user and the contentmetadata, informing the first user of consents required from anystakeholders other than the first stakeholder; providing messaging amongthe stakeholders associated with a term of the sale via the NFTtransaction; and tracking negotiations among the stakeholders regardingthe term of the sale via the NFT transaction.
 11. The method of claim10, further comprising: determining, via the digital vault, the term ofthe sale via the NFT transaction based on input from the stakeholders;and embedding the term of the NFT transaction into a smart contractgoverning the NFT transaction.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: receiving, via the digital vault, proceeds from the sale ofsalable content item; and distributing the proceeds to the stakeholdersin accordance with stakeholder rights determined based on the input fromthe stakeholders.
 13. The method of claim 3, further comprising:receiving, via the digital vault, proceeds from the sale of salablecontent item; and distributing the proceeds to the stakeholders inaccordance with stakeholder rights specified in the content metadata ofthe salable content item.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:authenticating authenticity of the salable content item offered for salevia the NFT transaction.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining, via the digital vault, that consent is received from thestakeholders from whom consent is required; and permitting initiation ofthe sale of the salable content item.
 16. A system for contentmanagement using a digital vault, comprising: a processor; and a memorycoupled to the processor to store instructions, which when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:determine that a first stakeholder is authorized to initiate a sale of asalable content item by holding rights in the salable content item;determine whether consent for a nonfungible token (NFT) transaction ofany stakeholders other than the first stakeholder is required; andprevent the sale of the salable content item until consent for the saleis received from each stakeholder from whom consent is required.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the processor to perform operations furthercomprising: upon determining whether consent for the NFT transaction ofany of the stakeholders other than the first stakeholder is required,notify the stakeholders other than the first stakeholder to requestconsent for the NFT transaction.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein theprocessor to perform operations further comprising: create the salablecontent item comprising the content submitted by a first user andcontent metadata; and identify the salable content item that is to beput up for sale via the NFT transaction.
 19. The system of claim 18,wherein the processor to perform operations further comprising: send amessage to a second user inviting the second user to access the salablecontent item, wherein the second user is different than the stakeholdersauthorized to sell the salable content item and the first user thatsubmitted the content; and confirm that the second user is authorized toaccess the salable content item based on the message.
 20. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the message includes an access code used forconfirming authorization to access the salable content item.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein the access code is a single use access code.22. The system of claim 20, wherein the access code is a user-specific,non-transferable access code that remains valid for a pre-determinedperiod of time.
 23. The system of claim 18, wherein the content metadatacomprises at least one of a length of the content, performing artistname, producer name, arranger name, author name, recording engineername, recording studio name, recording date and time, genre of thecontent, and sub-genre of the content.
 24. The system of claim 18,wherein the processor to perform operations further comprising: afterthe sale of the salable content item, update the content metadata in thesalable content item to reflect a change in ownership rights so that thesalable content item includes metadata specifying rights held by currentstakeholders of the salable content item.
 25. The system of claim 18,wherein the processor to perform operations further comprising: uponidentifying the first user and the content metadata, inform the firstuser of consents required from any of the stakeholders other than thefirst stakeholder; provide messaging among the stakeholders associatedwith a term of the sale via the NFT transaction; and track negotiationsamong the stakeholders regarding the term of the sale via the NFTtransaction.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the processor toperform operations further comprising: determine the term of the salevia the NFT transaction based on input from the stakeholders; and embedthe term of the NFT transaction into a smart contract governing the NFTtransaction.
 27. The system of claim 26, wherein the processor toperform operations further comprising: receive proceeds from the sale ofsalable content item; and distribute the proceeds to the stakeholders inaccordance with stakeholder rights determined based on the input fromthe stakeholders.
 28. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor toperform operations further comprising: receive proceeds from the sale ofsalable content item; and distribute the proceeds to the stakeholders inaccordance with stakeholder rights specified in the content metadata ofthe salable content item.
 29. The system of claim 16, wherein theprocessor to perform operations further comprising: authenticateauthenticity of the salable content item offered for sale via the NFTtransaction.
 30. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor toperform operations further comprising: determine that consent isreceived from the stakeholders from whom consent is required; and permitinitiation of the sale of the salable content item.
 31. A non-transientelectronic, machine readable media storing a plurality of instructionsexecutable by one or more processors of a digital vault, the pluralityof instructions when executed by the one or more processors cause theone or more processors to: determine that a first stakeholder isauthorized to initiate a sale of a salable content item by holdingrights in the salable content item; determine whether consent for anonfungible token (NFT) transaction of any stakeholders other than thefirst stakeholder is required; and prevent the sale of the salablecontent item until consent for the sale is received from eachstakeholder from whom consent is required.